Alchemy Destinies
by bwilbur
Summary: Done, I've killed any future updates. It's the end. Or is it....? Wait, it is. Sorry for the improper chapter, for all the ... MYRIADS of fans out there.
1. The beginning

Alchemy Destinies  
  
By: The Digital One  
  
This story basically follows the bad guy's pasts (Felix included :B) and why Alex and Felix… um, Alex teamed up with Saturos and Mernardi. The game Golden Sun never gave much information on Mia and Alex (nor Saturos and Mernardi's fire clan), except that they had to protect the Imilians, and guard the lighthouse, to prevent it from being lit. Where did the other members of the Mercury clan go? How was life in Vale before?  
  
NOTE: I don't own Golden Sun. This story is just a fanfic that I cooked up, with the characters of Golden Sun. The only thing I own is the idea.  
  
---  
  
Chapter One: The beginning  
  
"Mernardi… Mernardi?" A voice echoed in Mernardi's head. Mernardi was fast asleep, until the voice interrupted her dream. She grunted and forced her eyes open.  
  
It was Saturos. The young male, with crimson eyes, a light blue hue for his hair, and his skin was a darker, navy blue. He was in full attire, with his sword latched on his belt, and his shield attached onto a hook in his armor. Saturos was shaking Mernardi's shoulders, attempting to wake the young female up.  
  
Mernardi's skin was a pale color. Her hair was blonde, and she painted her face for a variety of color. The paint, though, got smudged while she was sleeping. She looked up to Saturos.  
  
"What do you want?" Mernardi snapped at Saturos.  
  
"Calm down, woman," Saturos put his hands on his hips. "The Quill wants us to crack the core of Alchemy, for a mission. We have to go to Angara."  
  
The Quill was a young man, a powerful, swift mars adept; the leader of the fire clan of the north, whom both Saturos and Mernardi are a part of. He had electric yellow eyes, but other than that, he looked and dressed like a normal human.  
  
"How can we crack the core of Alchemy? It's impossible, with years and years of legacies of sages… they didn't find out one thing about alchemy." Mernardi grumbled. She got up, and put on her armor.  
  
"Ah, but we don't know. Angarians aren't connected with us at all. I really don't think they would tell us, either," Saturos said.  
  
"Ehh… whatever…" Mernardi scowled. She added a layer of paint on her face, put on her hot pink shoes, and headed out of the room she was in. Saturos followed.  
  
When Saturos caught up with Mernardi, Mernardi started asking questions.  
  
"Where are we going to start?" She barked.  
  
"We'll ask The Quill," he replied.  
  
"What if we never fulfill this mission?" She asked.  
  
"Oh, Mernardi, we haven't even started," Saturos gave her a rare, but pained smile. "We'll just see what The Quill says. He wants us to complete this mission, after all."  
  
"What if we die?"  
  
"Mernardi… god, what the hell is with you and these questions? Ask me if we're close to dying, or if it seems impossible!" Saturos' oily voice raised a volume.  
  
Mernardi didn't say anything, until they reached The Quill's door. Saturos knocked the door gently.  
  
"Master? Are you in there?" Saturos asked. No one answered. Saturos knocked on the door again.  
  
"Excuse me? Are you in there, master?"  
  
"Well, since he isn't here, why don't we go back and forget about this?" Mernardi said, looking around.  
  
"Mernardi! Not answering to the master results in death! He's the strongest adept in our clan! He is our dictator! I don't think you're not afraid of death. We'll just wait here," Saturos was starting to get annoyed.  
  
Mernardi scowled and then stood by The Quill's door. Saturos crossed his arms, and leaned on the door. Several minutes passed by when Mernardi started to complain, being her impatient self.  
  
"Ohh, I hope out 'master' is dead! He isn't worth anything!" Mernardi frowned.  
  
"Mernardi, keep your damned thoughts in your head! If you say anything like that in the raw of the public, we could get killed!" Saturos gritted his teeth.  
  
The Quill suddenly appeared. He was carrying a bag, and reaching in his pocket for his keys.  
  
"Hello, Saturos, Mernardi. How are you today?" He said. The Quill held the bag between his teeth, and began unlocking the door.  
  
"I'm fine today, thank you," Saturos said, slightly bowing. Mernardi noticed Saturos' voice was clearer than when he was talking to her.  
  
"That's all jolly," The Quill opened the door, and took off his boots. "You may come in."  
  
Mernardi walked through the door, taking off her own boots. Saturos was looking at Mernardi in an odd way, as if trying to tell her something. Mernardi ignored Saturos, and walked straight to a royal blue armchair, and sat down. Saturos took off his boots, and just stood in front of the messy room. Saturos looked toward the Quill, and smiled.  
  
"Thank you for letting us in," Saturos bowed again. Mernardi sank into the armchair, and sighed. The Quill glanced quickly over at Mernardi.  
  
"No problem, Saturos, but we aren't having any kind of party today," The Quill glared at Mernardi, who made a face at The Quill. Saturos made a movement impersonating a knife cutting through his neck, and then pointed at her. Mernardi ignored Saturos.  
  
"I know; we have to find the stupid core of Alchemy, yadda, yadda. But where? That's all we need to know, and then we can go away." Mernardi said quickly.  
  
Saturos put his arm on his legs and rested his chin on his hand. The Quill looked over at Mernardi, with a look of disdain on his face.  
  
"Yea… you're right in a way. You need to break the seal of Alchemy, and discover its secrets. I don't care if no soul on this planet knows, or everyone in Angara knows. You will be finding it. We'll start in Angara; it's said that a small village protecting a giant mountain has the secrets hidden in their village." The Quill sat on one of his armchairs, crumpling the bag.  
  
"Aye, sir. We will complete this mission for you," Saturos put his hand on his forehead, and saluted. Mernardi had to stifle her laughter to make it inaudible to Saturos and The Quill.  
  
"Bah, you think you can do it all alone, with no help?" The Quill suddenly sneered.  
  
Saturos was taken aback. "Well, I have Mernardi's help…" He said weakly, his voice greasy again.  
  
"Mernardi?" The Quill smiled slyly. "She can actually help you? How has she ever helped you before?" The Quill asked. Mernardi got up in her seat.  
  
"Excuse me, sir… but what does that supposed to mean?" Mernardi said slowly, looking at Saturos.  
  
"You two barely survived the last mission I gave you two, you know, to battle the Tin master and defeat him? You got that robot to flee from our area, but that isn't completing the mission. Saturos could have used the promotion… and the budget. Too bad he has a klutz for a partner." The Quill said scornfully.  
  
Mernardi was shaking in anger. Saturos stared at Mernardi tensely, as if waiting for her to explode.  
  
"Well, wheter you guys die, or complete the mission, I do not care. Promotion if you succeed… death… as another two optional choices… if you come back without a straight answer." The Quill opened the bag, and got out a small book.  
  
"I'm assuming you don't know where Angara is, knuckleheads. Thank god that you have a leader that saves your cheek by buying a book for you," The Quill threw the book to Saturos. It was a world atlas, with a weak, paper cover, and missing pages.  
  
"Thank you, sir…" Saturos said, looking through the book.  
  
The Quill took a golden goblet from his table, and filled it with wine he withdrew from the bag. Saturos eagerly waited for The Quill to give him some, since his mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton balls, but The Quill put the goblet in front of his lips, draining the cup.  
  
"I do not want to see the likes of you until you complete your mission," The Quill corked the bottle of wine, and put the goblet and bottle on his table. "You two are dismissed!"  
  
Saturos walked out of the room quickly, frowning. Mernardi got out, shaking with anger.  
  
"That son of a bitch… ohhh… I want to kill that… that… bastard! I mean, 'klutz?' I'm not a klutz!" Mernardi said after they walked a distance from the Quill's room. Saturos shook his head.  
  
"Well, let's get all of our stuff, and leave," Saturos got the keys out of his pockets. "If we can't find what we want, we can live on the raw of the land, enjoying the rest of our lives, building up our psynergy…"  
  
"… To kill that moron! I'm not a klutz!" Mernardi thundered.  
  
Saturos smiled weakly. "Well, say what you will, after we get out of this building."  
  
They walked through twists and turns, until they finally reached the exit. A young, male teenager that looked like Mernardi waved at them.  
  
"See ya, guys! Good luck on your mission!" he said.  
  
"Bye, Meriko!" Mernardi called. She opened the exit door, and waved at the boy.  
  
It was a bright, summer morning. The sun poured on them, over an open patch of grassy land. Mernardi looked back at the four storied building, and waved.  
  
"Good riddance, The Damned!" She cupped her hands around her mouth, and hollered. Saturos got out the book, and glared at her.  
  
"You are such a personable person," Saturos said.  
  
Mernardi beamed at Saturos and ran around in circles, while Saturos slowly walked toward Angara, according to the map.  
  
"Well, Saturos… I say we drop the whole subject and live on the rough of the land." Mernardi said, after a fair distance away from the building.  
  
"No," Saturos said. "We should find the core of alchemy. If we can turn crude material into gold, we can just keep the secret to ourselves, and sell our way to riches." Saturos smiled again. "Now, which way is east, Mernardi, did you bring your compass?"  
  
---  
  
w00t! What an exciting chapter! Um, well, not really exciting, but it gives you the reason why Saturos and Mernardi wanted to go to Vale. Of course, they don't know what Vale is now, but they will learn from future experiences. The next chapter would cover Mia's past, and the next chapter will cover Jenna's, etc. Kind of like the Redwall series, switching back and forth, between the enemies and the bad guys. The story also takes place around when the main characters (except Ivan) were 13, a good four years from the ending of the first Golden Sun game (Dora said that Isaac was ALMOST 17 in the beginning, and Garet and Mia are the same age.). Ivan won't be featured in this story, as much as I like the boy. 


	2. Personable Horde

Alchemy Destinies  
  
By: The Digital One  
  
Chapter two's up, huzzah! The chapter takes place on Mia's birthday, and Alex gives her a present ^_^ Aww… well, anyway, enjoy this story.  
  
---  
  
Chapter Two: Personable Horde  
  
Twenty people, all with light blue eyes and blue hair walked through a damp forest somewhere in Angara. There was much groaning, complaining and stumbling between these people. Mia herself was having difficulty walking through the moist mud, especially with the special ankh her dad game her the day he disappeared.  
  
"Lars, can't you ask Erik to stop already?" Mia's mother said wearily to an old man with highlights of blue in his colorless hair. "I don't see why we have to travel, when we were just fine in the place we've lived in for decades."  
  
"Why are we traveling, anyway? I liked Crib!" complained Mia's older brother, Luke. Crib was the nickname he gave to the land they used to live in, a cold, yet cheery place.  
  
"Dunno, ask Erik," Alex, a teenaged male with shoulder-length hair shrugged. Erik was their leader, a middle aged man with his blue hair tied into a pony tail.  
  
"He wouldn't tell me, he said it was a surprise," Mia piped up.  
  
Luke smirked. "Oh, and is it a present for your birthday, birthday girl?" Luke said scornfully.  
  
Mia just glared at Luke, and kept on walking.  
  
"Sheesh, Luke, don't pick on your sister like that!" Alex said to Luke.  
  
"Sorry, Alex," Luke frowned sarcastically.  
  
"Hardy har har," Mia rolled her eyes. "Look can we drop this matter?"  
  
Luke stared at her oddly, as if she was trying to keeping a secret from him. Mia faltered at his gaze, and tripped on a tree root sticking out of the earth.  
  
"Mia, are you okay?" Alex reached out to help Mia up. Mia swiped all the dirt off of her skirt the best she can, blushing. Alex handed Mia her ankh, his eyes like a mist covered ocean after a storm, shining.  
  
"Yea, I'm fine, Alex, thank you…" Mia said softly. Luke smiled at her.  
  
---  
  
"Okay, guys… after we get out of this forest, we'll find a dry patch of land, and settle there," Erik said loud enough for the entire clan to here.  
  
"Why can't we rest here?" Mia's mother complained. "My legs feel like they're made out of led!"  
  
"This forest is really… weird…" Erik looked around the sky, almost completely covered with bare tree branches. "I don't feel like staying here overnight. We are getting out of this forest before the sun sets." He said, looking at the fourteen others. "Any objections?"  
  
No one said anything. Erik smiled.  
  
"Great! Now let's move out!" Erik continued walking in the same direction, and with audible groans coming from the clan, they slowly followed Erik.  
  
Mia's mom looked toward Mia, and put her hand on Mia's shoulder. "I'm sorry Mia. For your birthday, you have to tramp through these… disgusting, irritating, annoying, tediously long, boring… woods. I'll make it up to you tomorrow, hmm?" She smiled at Mia, attempting to cheer her up.  
  
Mia gave a weak smile. "That's okay; mom… life is like that… I shouldn't be complaining, anyway. I'm acting immature for being a year older, anyway."  
  
"No, you weren't complaining. You are acting very mature like that," she smiled again. "I've just kept an eye on you all day… we've been walking through fields, all sorts of things, to finally reach this horrible forest at the end of the day. I've never could have endured a birthday likes yours today. Mia, I love you more than anything… you're my daughter, and the single worse thing besides having a bad birthday would be having to see your child go through a bad birthday…"  
  
Luke, who was nearby, looked sarcastically taken aback. "Mom! You don't love me more than Mia?" He covered his eyes with his dirty hands, pretending to cry. "I've been with you longer than Mia has!"  
  
Alex sniggered. Mia just walked past them, groaning, and walked next to Erik.  
  
"Erik, do you know how to get out of this forest?" The forest was getting darker minute by minute. Though she didn't want to admit it, by the age of fourteen, she still was afraid of the dark. Mia walked closely next to Erik, feeling security.  
  
"Well, if you look at the trees…" Erik pointed up to the sky. "When the sky opens up a little more, we know we're heading toward the end of the forest. Mia looked up. With the sun setting, it was impossible to tell.  
  
"Well, it looks like the sky's opening up, mm, Erik?" Mia said hopefully.  
  
"To tell you the truth, I'm not sure…" Erik squinted, and turned his head at any noise.  
  
"What if we head out the same direction?" Mia asked.  
  
"Well, we won't go back into this damned forest at nighttime! We'll attempt again in the morning." Erik looked at Mia, while talking. "Of course, we have no way of telling if we'll make it out of here… we might be forced to…" Erik paused. "Well, Mia, wasn't this just a horrible day? Especially for the day you were born? How old are you now, anyway, ten?"  
  
Mia looked down to the ground, and let a tear drop from cheek. "I'm fourteen, now…" Mia pretended to scratch her cheek to wipe away the tears from her eyes.  
  
"Really? You're fourteen already? Well, looks can be deceiving, but you are much more mature than a fourteen year old," Erik's face, lighted by darkness, widened, showing a smile. Mia forced a smile.  
  
"Damn it. Erik! Can't we just stay here just for a nighttime? You do not know how tired I am!" Mia's mom yelled over the distance. Mia could see Luke and Alex laughing at something, apparently the only clan members smiling.  
  
"Be patient! If we still can't find anything by approximately an hour, we'll give up and rest, okay? I really don't want to stay in this forest, I can tell there's something lethal hidden in it," Erik replied.  
  
"Psccch! Riight! You've said that an hour ago!" Kevin, a young man with short hair sneered.  
  
"We wouldn't want to be killed, now do we?" Erik spat. Mia could tell he was getting impatient. "If you want to be left behind, be my guest!" Erik walked away from further conversation. Mia walked down to her mother, and just remained walked side-by-side with her.  
  
---  
  
"Hehe, he's returned!" Luke whispered to Alex. Something glowing was in Alex's cupped hands. Alex sniggered.  
  
"What did it do to you, Luke?" Alex asked.  
  
"It sprayed water on me… erg… but I guess it was in a playful way," Luke said. "I feel much better than I did when he sprayed the water on me."  
  
"Riight…"  
  
"No, I swear to god!" Luke whispered in the highest volume a whisper can be.  
  
"So, Fizz, do you cure people with your waters?" Alex said to the glowing thing in his hands.  
  
"Ha, see? It nodded!" Luke said softly. "Told you, Alex!"  
  
"How do you know if it said yes or not? It could have been vice-versa to him!" Alex said.  
  
"Oh yeah?"  
  
"Yeah, liar!"  
  
"Well, you wait and see, I'll ask Fizz to spray water to soothe my mom!" Luke said.  
  
"Haha, you are so gullible with your own beliefs!" Alex sneered. "Go on, you can take the blame!" Alex raised his hands to Mia's mother's neck.  
  
"Hey! What in the world are you talking about?" Mia suddenly turned around.  
  
"It's a surprise," Luke said quickly.  
  
Alex put his hands in his pockets. "We were talking about… a gift to give you! Right, Luke?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Mia shook her head. "Really? Why were you planning to squirt 'soothing' waters on mom, huh, Luke?"  
  
Luke looked at Alex. "Whatever are you talking about? We never said that. You must be going deaf."  
  
Alex smiled. "He did want to squirt something at your mom, Mia," Alex got out the glowing thing out of his pockets and raised his hand. A glowing, blue creature was in Alex's cupped hands.  
  
"I unleash Fizz!" Alex yelled silently. Before Mia's mom or Fizz could react…  
  
BOOM.  
  
A great rumbling came from deep in the forest. Everyone paused, eyes darting in every direction. Mia clutched onto her ankh tightly. Them booms became louder and louder.  
  
"What is making that infernal racket?" Lars, the woman Mia's mom was talking to earlier, said, his eyes filled with terror.  
  
"Maybe… a volcano!" A young child said, holding onto her mother's blouse.  
  
"Don't be silly Bill, a volcano in this forest? Really… Even if it was a volcano erupting, we can use our water powers to cool the lava down," her mom replied.  
  
"Stand your ground," Erik said slowly. Sweat was trickling down his face. For an odd reason, the sky lighted up into a dark orange hue.  
  
"How come the sky's fading?" Bill whined. Erik wiped the sweat off his face.  
  
"It must be a monster," Erik stammered. When it appears, run in that direction!" Erik put a shivering finger up toward where the sky was opening. Everyone nodded. Just then, an ape, about 7 feet tall, shadowed the area where the clan was standing. Its fur was matted, and was blue with dark stains on its coat. He looked at every single clan member, and gave a large roar.  
  
"RUN! DON'T JUST STAND THERE!" Erik bellowed. As soon as he finished his sentence, he sped away from the ape. Everyone else followed.  
  
But the ape wasn't easily fooled. It beated on its chest, yelling, and running toward the clan members, its eyes turning red.  
  
"Unless you want to get trampled, attack!" Erik held up his hand, and icicles flew out of his hands. He ape covered its face, and then kicked Erik swiftly in his chest. Erik fell back, his arm twisted and bleeding.  
  
"ERIK!" The mom of Bill yelled. She ran up to Erik, giving him an herb, and using Ply, an ancient healing art passed down to Mercury clan members.  
  
"I'm okay, my right arm is damaged! It's nothing; I could still use my water powers!" Erik painfully put up his left arm, and shot several small icicles at the ape, while other clan members used the staffs and maces to attack the Ape, or using the ice attack Erik was using. The ape quickly injured other clan members, while Bill's mother came rushing toward them, treating them all hastily.  
  
"Still try to fight with your powers!" She tried to encourage. Mia never had the courage to hit the ape, or attack it with her water powers, she just dodged punched and kicks delivered by the ape. Alex soon helped out with healing, with the small, blue creature with the pink tail he was holding earlier.  
  
Every adult was injured, while only kids remained to attack. The children tried tapping the ape with little sticks, and running off when the ape turned. Other older children threw rocks at the ape. Mia, not having the guts to try to attack the ape, ran off to where Alex was treating her mother.  
  
"Will she be okay?" Mia said, her eyes watering from fear.  
  
"Only time will tell," Alex got the blue creature, and it sprayed water on Mia's mother.  
  
Erik finally gathered the strength to get up. He walked toward where Alex was, and tapped him on the shoulder, his face red.  
  
"Alex! You have to help the children defeat the ape! Once I muster all my strength, I will help you, too! Let your pet heal anyone that's injured! And Mia… help Alex! Mia, I know…"  
  
Erik never finished his sentence. The ape unexpectedly lifted him up off the earth with his massive paw, and threw him hard onto the ground. The last sound that came from Erik was a cracking sound… of every single bone in his body. Mia looked at Alex. He was trying to wake up the knocked out children, and no one was left to attack the beast. The blue creature went darting from person to person, spraying water on each victim of the ape. Mia stood up, took a deep breath, and ran toward the ape, holding out her treasured ankh.  
  
The ape saw what Mia was doing. It quickly jumped out of place, preparing to attack an already injured clan member, a young boy. Mia couldn't stop in time, and her ankh went through the stomach of a fellow clan member. The man, surprised, gasped for his final breath, and fell on to the ground, to be silent forever.  
  
Mia was shocked. She killed someone! Not just anyone, but a clan member! Mia didn't take the ankh out of his body. Instead, she sat down in front of the one she murdered, and wept.  
  
"Damn it, Mia! There's no time to waste! We have to escape, there is no way we'll kill this beast!" Luke's face was drenched in sweat, and he had a wound on his forehead. "Almost everyone died here – we can't afford to lose anymore lives! Let's escape!"  
  
Mia took one final glance at the man she killed. She wiped her eyes dry, and ran to catch up to Luke. Luke was holding a young, four-year-old girl that suffered serious injuries. Alex and Bill's mother also held knocked out children.  
  
"Mia, that ape is trying to maim the ones already dead! Try to save someone… or some people, it's a rare opportunity to save a life," Luke said. Mia rushed, and grabbed the only child remaining on the ground, alive, but knocked out. She fled from the scene of havoc, and ran out of the forest.  
  
---  
  
The sky was now a bright red color by the time the remaining clan members got out of the forest, and the survivors were walking across a large field. Mia walked slowly, crying to herself. Her mom wasn't with her, she left her ankh, the only thing she can remember her father by, and she slew a clan member! Mia wasn't the only one crying, most of the six other survivors, out of twenty, were shedding tears, even Luke was. The girl that Mia was holding stirred, opening her eyes. She looked at Mia, frightened.  
  
"Mom! I had a horrible dream! There was a big, giant, blue monkey chasing us!" the girl hugged Mia. "Oh, mom, thank goodness that was a dream. I couldn't bear with it if that really happened."  
  
Mia smiled painfully at the girl, hugging her tightly back. "What if it did really happen?"  
  
"Oh, I dunno..." The girl put her forehead against Mia's chest. "Ow! Mom! I have a cut on my forehead!" The girl began crying.  
  
Luke suddenly walked next to Mia, and rubbed the girl's head, doing ply.  
  
"Megan, I'm afraid…" Luke looked painfully at Mia. Mia nodded slowly, and Luke took in a deep breath.  
  
"This was no dream. Your cut came from the big giant ape, and you parents, as well as ours, were slew," Luke said.  
  
"But isn't she my mom?"  
  
"Umm, she's a survivor of the ape attacks. Her name is Mia."  
  
Megan began crying, but wiped away her tears.  
  
"Look, Megan. We are all sad, but it's a privilege to live. Even though we had to leave others behind, at least we all didn't get killed. One decision can change the movement of the stars," Luke took Megan away from Mia, and hugged her.  
  
Megan looked at Luke, and then smiled at Mia. "Thank you for saving me. You changed the movement of the stars!"  
  
---  
  
The same afternoon, the sky faded into its regular blue color. Lars said it was an eclipse of the lining up of the moon and sun. Why the sky turned bright yellow in the middle of the night was still a mystery. Mia dropped the matter, and concentrated on the day to turn out as good as it can get. The clan found a spot on the road to picnic; a sunny patch of land with a huge boulder, and several fruit trees besides it. The clan members settled on the boulder, or sat on a mat to eat.  
  
"Damn, why do we eat only fruits?" someone complained.  
  
Luke bitterly bit into an apple. "Well, it's as good as it gets. Eat it, or eat dirt, if you want. At least we can't die of scurvy."  
  
"Is Erik with us?" Bill, chewing greedily on an apple, asked.  
  
"I'm afraid that he died," Alex said. Mia smiled to herself, relieved to see that Alex was alive and well with them.  
  
"Then who's with us?" Bill finished the apple and tossed it off the rock.  
  
"Hmmm, I am, Mia, Alex, you, your mom, Lars, and Megan," Only seven out of… twenty people! We should be thankful that we're living," Luke said. "Oh, and don't forget Fizz! He's the only reason most of us are living right now!"  
  
"Fizz?" Bill got another apple from the tree.  
  
"Alex's pet… umm, crab?" Mia said, looking at Alex feeding the creature an apple.  
  
"No, it's a djinni, a mercury djinni," Alex said to Mia. "He's quite attached to me, but we agreed, that for a late birthday present…" Alex stammered. "Fizz will be your new pet!" Alex handed the djinni over to Mia, whom was shocked.  
  
"Alex… thank you!" Mia was hugging the creature tightly.  
  
"No problem," Alex said. "I'm your friend, and I would like to show it to you."  
  
Luke smiled at Mia. "I think you deserve a present like that either way, I mean, what a terrible birthday you had!"  
  
Bill finished his apple, and asked another question. "Who is our leader now? I mean, Erik is dead…"  
  
Alex smiled. "What about Luke? He sure's responsible!" Luke scowled at him.  
  
"Actually, that would be a good idea…" Lars said.  
  
"I nominate Luke, too!" Mia shot her hand up in the air.  
  
"Well… why not?" Luke beamed. "I guess it'll be fun."  
  
"Luke, you punk! I love the way you're sooo unassuming!" Alex punched Luke playfully in the ribs.  
  
"Congrats, Luke," Lars said, smiling.  
  
"Huh! Imagine Luke a leader! Bah, I wonder if pigs can fly now…" Alex said.  
  
"Alex, you know you want to be the leader!" Fizz taunted from Mia's pocket.  
  
"That's not true!" Alex was blushing. "Luke would be a perfect leader!"  
  
"Thank you, Alex," Luke said coldly.  
  
"No problem! Let's see what our new leader commands!"  
  
---  
  
I did write a Golden Sun fic called 'To Lumeria' for this site. When I thought twice about the plot, I realized it SUCKED. I had no vision on what would happen, and I made my story up as I went. Jez' if you're wondering, I thought I'd say that. Next chapter will be on Saturos and Mernardi, Felix won't be featured until a long time. 


	3. Chi released!

Alchemy Destinies  
  
By: The Digital One  
  
Saturos and Mernardi continue to track down the secrets of Alchemy, and this time, they find a clue! Next chapter will be Alex and Mia (if you haven't guessed already, they were in Mogall forest), somewhere in Angara. Possibly the next, next chapter will be life in Vale. If the violence in this chapter is too 'intense,' sorry. ^^;; Anyway, I hope you enjoy. It only took me a day to scribble out my thoughts, so I apologize if this chapter makes the plot go awry. I've decided to start the chapter immediately after the first one, so if you don't understand the first few lines, read the last lines in the default chapter.  
  
---  
  
Chapter Three: First clue  
  
"A compass?" Mernardi muttered the strange word.  
  
Saturos rolled his eyes. "Now I know what the Quill was talking about earlier. You are a total moron… maybe even a klutz."  
  
"Well, I'm not up to date with the latest… crap today! I have my own beauty to take care of!" Mernardi shot a nasty look at Saturos.  
  
"Well, a compass is a tool used to tell us which way is north. The Chinese invented it," Saturos tried to explain calmly.  
  
Mernardi nodded. "Well, if the Chinese invented it, of course I don't know! We live no where near China!"  
  
"Keridi brought back a compass from his expeditions to trade silk on the Silk Road; obviously you don't keep up with any missions issued to clan members! How would you feel if we nearly died trying to complete our mission and someone like… you… didn't give shit about what we did?"  
  
"Keridi couldn't have died during trading," Mernardi said simply.  
  
"You won't give up without a fight, eh, Mernardi? Well, for your information, Keridi claimed a giant silk worm tried to eat him up!" Saturos said.  
  
Mernardi laughed. "And you believed him? Ha, you hardheaded moron, you would have believed the earth was round if a worm told you!"  
  
"Whatever. Mernardi, haven't we wasted enough time? Let's go now, even though we have no damned clue of where we are," Saturos spat. He walked; assuming what was in front of him was north.  
  
Mernardi sighed, and followed Saturos. "You know, you'll get us lost."  
  
Saturos turned over to Mernardi, and gave her a pained look. "I outrank you, Mernardi! Not by much, but that's what matters! I outrank you, clear?"  
  
"I'm much more smarter. Just 'cause you were born before I was, doesn't mean you're smarter," Mernardi stuck her tongue out.  
  
"Mernardi, that's not what matters. The highest ranked person leads a group."  
  
"Only by a little, c'mon, Saturos… let me lead the way for once!"  
  
"No!"  
  
"Please?"  
  
"Listen, Mernardi, I'm taking no crap from you during this mission, and I'm going to get a promotion!"  
  
Just then, a stone came flinging into the air, hitting Saturos' chest. It didn't hurt him much, but he did make a big deal out of it.  
  
"Mernardi! Didn't you just hear what I said? I'm taking no crap from you!" Saturos said, enraged.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Huh, trying to piss me off, eh? You're making a big mistake, woman!"  
  
"What the hell are you talking about?" Mernardi showed irritation in her voice.  
  
"Hello? I was—"  
  
Suddenly, a small child with green hair appeared, with black plant dye all over his face. He was wearing brown skins. He looked at Saturos, and bared his teeth.  
  
"No one passes here without payin' a price, barbarians!" The small child clutched his fists.  
  
"And what will a little runt do about it?" Mernardi sneered.  
  
"Call upon the Bravado Tribe, that's what, you clown!" The boy replied.  
  
"Oooh! Mernardi has been maligned!" Saturos said darkly, but loudly.  
  
"Oooh… that is IT," Mernardi drew out her scythe, and ran up to the boy.  
  
"DEATH SIZE!" Mernardi yelled in rage. A powerful force came from her scythe, almost cutting the boy's hand off.  
  
"Cheap sword tricks!" The boy blew on his hand and shook it. "You will pay!" The boy used his other hand to swipe Saturos' sword. Saturos chuckled, and allowed the boy to do whatever he wanted with his sword.  
  
"Now, let's duel!" The boy swiftly ran up to Mernardi, and poked her leg with Saturos' sword.  
  
"You want to see my true powers?" Mernardi said warningly. The boy just scoffed.  
  
"Bah, you? Powers? You might have the power to scare babes away with that face of yours!" The boy kept slashing the air with Saturos' sword. Saturos thought the fight was going to be entertaining, so he sat back.  
  
"Speak no nonsense, child! I'll spare your life by giving you one last warning, leave, or die!" Mernardi clutched the scythe with both hands.  
  
"I'll never give up, in the name of the Bravado Tribe!" The boy shouted.  
  
"Tony!" An oily voice called. Saturos stared lazily at the man that appeared. He had light green hair and was wearing skins, like the boy was.  
  
"Chief! What are you doing here? You're supposed to be resting!" The boy dropped Saturos sword, and bowed.  
  
"You know nothing, child. Let them pass our lands, for I sense a great power within them. They will not tolerate foolishness displayed by anyone," The man looked, and smiled weakly at the two travelers.  
  
"That's too late, buddy. The boy has displayed his attitude and character. He displays poor character, and for that, he'll be punished," Saturos pick up his sword, and chuckled.  
  
"About time we start agreeing, Saturos! Yes, prepare to die!" Mernardi smirked.  
  
"Please, do not harm Tony. He is just a boy," The man blocked their vision of Tony with his body, trying to protect him.  
  
Mernardi suddenly smiled. "Sure, if…" Saturos made a face, as if Mernardi's idea would be plainly dumb.  
  
"What? I'll see if I can answer your question…" The old man said.  
  
"Do you know anything about alchemy?" Mernardi asked. Saturos hit his head, sighing.  
  
The man looked behind him. Tony walked up to Mernardi.  
  
"Why would we tell a freak like you, even if we did know? Nyahh!" Tony stuck his tongue out. Mernardi playfully swiped her scythe at Tony, which made him squeal, and hide behind the man.  
  
"Tony, I order you to stop taunting this… lovely woman!" The man scolded.  
  
Tony couldn't help but to snigger. "Lovely? … Oh yes, lovely…" he faltered at the man's gaze.  
  
Saturos laughed. "Har, Mernardi is a lovely girl. I especially love her attitude."  
  
Mernardi scowled at Saturos. "Anyway, do you know anything about alchemy?"  
  
"Alchemy?" The man stammered. "I… I've never heard of it…"  
  
"Tell us the truth, man, of you'll never see the sun rise ever…" Saturos threatened, trying to make Mernardi sound less stupid. "Nor will your precious boy."  
  
"I am… telling you the truth!" The man said, backing up.  
  
"Believe me; I know you know at least one thing about alchemy…" Saturos rasped.  
  
"I don't… except for the meaning!" The man said, with fear in his voice.  
  
"That is something you know, old man… you can't lie to me…" Saturos breathed on the man's face. The man's eyes were widened, his whole body petrified. Saturos quickly kicked the man in his stomach, which knocked him out. The boy squeaked, and fled. Saturos chuckled dryly.  
  
"Haha, morons. They never learn how to deal with reality. I wonder how weak the old man's tribe is? Maybe we should take the fun to kill them all?" Mernardi put her hands on her hips.  
  
Saturos shook his head. "No… we can't afford to waste anytime within territory of madmen. Since we can cross their territory safely now, we should take the chance, and leave."  
  
Mernardi frowned. "You know, I wish I can outrank you…"  
  
Saturos forced a laugh. "Haw! Dream on, girl. Now, let's go."  
  
---  
  
Tony's cheeks were strained in tears. He was whining loudly, running back to his tribe. Soon, he encountered Mary, a tribe member. She was picking red berries from a bush, and putting them in a straw basket.  
  
"Mary! Mary!" Mary looked up at Tony's fear-stricken face.  
  
"Oh, dear, what happened? What's wrong?" Mary dropped the basket, and hugged Tony. Tony kept on whining.  
  
"Two scary looking people came and killed the chief! Oh Mary, it was so scary!" Tony hugged Mary backed, sobbing into her skirt.  
  
"Tony, this better not be one of your stories, where is the chief now?" Mary picked up her basket, and put the berries back in.  
  
"Come on! Follow me!" Tony ran off. He stopped crying, and had a nasty feeling that the clowns would want to kill him.  
  
---  
  
Saturos looked back at Mernardi.  
  
"You know, maybe we should go back, get the guy's body, and hold ransom. We do need money for our trip," Saturos turned around, and walked toward the opposite direction. Mernardi rolled her eyes and followed Saturos.  
  
"You know, Saturos… you should listen to me when I say something. You end up doing it, anyway," Mernardi said.  
  
"I make the decisions. I always consider things."  
  
"Riight…"  
  
Saturos smiled briefly. "Well, look; he's still knocked out, heh. Do you have a blindfold, or a rope?"  
  
"Of course I don't. Why would I carry such dumb items?"  
  
"Uhh… for survival? Duh! Sheesh, Mernardi, help me carry this guy." Saturos grabbed his arms.  
  
"Not so fast, imbeciles!" a familiar voice rang out. It was Tony, along with a teenaged girl. Saturos smirked.  
  
"Wow, Tony brought along his mom! Think she can defeat us, eh, boy?" Saturos mustered all his strength, and put the chief onto his back.  
  
"You better give us back the chief!" the girl yelled.  
  
"What will you do about it, girl?" Mernardi sneered.  
  
The girl scowled at Mernardi. "You just wait and see… ALABARON!" the woman yelled into the sky.  
  
"Wow, she's tough, mm, Mernardi?" Saturos looked lazily toward the young girl.  
  
"Oh, yes, definitely. A war cry really scares the hell out of me, yep," Mernardi smiled.  
  
Suddenly, almost a score of men, all wearing brown animal skins came stampeding out of nowhere. They all carried spears, and started attacking Saturos and Mernardi. They managed to tie them both together, successfully took away their weapons, and about five men carried Saturos and Mernardi back to their village. The others carried and guarded the chief.  
  
"Saturos, what is happening?" Mernardi said painfully, trying to escape from the ropes.  
  
"We'll wait. They're probably going to take us to their village."  
  
"What if they… kill us?"  
  
"Bah, we're adepts… Mernardi. They can't kill us easily. I want to see their little village," Saturos whispered to her.  
  
A man holding up Saturos chuckled. "You can die easily in our inferno pit. No one has yet to survive. The longest one has ever survived would be 4 hours."  
  
"You must kill children for that matter. Your tribe probably would never experience any powers of our sort," Mernardi said with a tone of anger in her voice.  
  
"Savor the feeling of life, while you can," another man sneered.  
  
Mernardi looked at Saturos. He was lying on the arms of three men carrying, looking at the sky.  
  
"How the hell can you be so calm?" Mernardi asked Saturos.  
  
Saturos looked at Mernardi. "I can't see why you're worried. You actually think we'll really get kill by the likes of… them?" Mernardi didn't say anything.  
  
"Your death is drawing nearer. We're already in our village, and we're following the path to the inferno pit," a man said. Saturos looked around their village. It was basically like any old town, houses scattered everywhere, and the occasional marketplace. They suddenly reached a totally empty area, with a small hole in the ground.  
  
"Tell the devil the Bravado Tribe sent you!" another man said. The men immediately lowered Saturos and Mernardi into the most miserable pit anyone could've imagined. It was a thin hole buried deep in the ground, with a couple of bones scattered on the bottom. The men, with great difficulty, pushed Saturos and Mernardi down the pit.  
  
"Live a happy life in hell!" a voice echoed from the outside of the pit.  
  
---  
  
"Mernardi, get off of me, I can barely breath in this hole," Saturos was in an uncomfortable prone position, and Mernardi's head was on his chest, her feet up in the air.  
  
"How the hell can I? I'm starving, my mouth is dry, and I can't feel any blood in my legs," Mernardi complained.  
  
"How long have we been in here, anyway?" Saturos asked. It seemed difficult for him to speak.  
  
"Dunno, really. Probably more than four hours," Mernardi said weakly.  
  
"So… heh, any ideas on how we're getting out of this hellhole?"  
  
"Saturos, you bitch, I knew we should have escaped while we had the chance! I dunno about you, but maybe my psynergy can bounce off of you to create a force strong enough to make me go flying out of this hole?" Mernardi said. She groaned, bit on the ropes, and finally got the ropes binding her hands together to break apart. "Want me to try?"  
  
"No, but I have an idea, here, untie these ropes on my hands…" Mernardi nodded, and took off the ropes on her legs before releasing Saturos. Saturos smiled.  
  
"Thank you, Mernardi," Saturos closed his eyes, and purple lights surrounded him.  
  
"What will a higher attack do for you?" Mernardi scoffed. Saturos was performing an impact spell.  
  
"Just wait and see," Saturos smiled at Mernardi.  
  
"NOVA!" Saturos yelled. A big explosion caused the whole hole to widen, but collapse. Mernardi performed a Halt spell to stop the collapsing, and they both got safely out of the hole before it caved in. Several people came running toward the open area.  
  
"What the hell's going on?" a man that carried Saturos earlier yelled. Saturos walked up to him, holding up his hand.  
  
"Today's going to be a warm day in hell," Saturos said hoarsely. "For many will be joining the devil today. INFERNO!" Massive fireballs came shooting out of Saturos' hand. Mernardi was also attacking the curious villagers that gathered around the square. Several others fled from the scene when they found out what was the cause of all the noise. Saturos managed to kill some villagers that fled, including Tony. Saturos walked up to Tony, and put his hand around Tony's neck, gripping it hardly.  
  
"Vengeance is such a sweet thing," Saturos rasped, before choking Tony to death.  
  
After several minutes of fighting, the only survivors were ones that fled, or were sound asleep during the melee. Since both Saturos and Mernardi's psynergy were totally drained, they decided to let the few remaining survivors live. To recharge their psynergy, they walked into houses, looking for clues for their mission.  
  
"What a day, huh, Saturos?" Mernardi said wearily, throwing books on the floor of a vacant house.  
  
"I've enjoyed it," Saturos said, flipping through a book. He threw the book on the ground, and went to the table in the house, with a half-eaten meal remaining on the table. He tore greedily at the food, and drank from a wooden goblet.  
  
"Well, Saturos, you'll be one of the weirder people I'll ever meet in my life," Mernardi said.  
  
"I'll take that as a compliment," Saturos smiled at Mernardi, showing his sharp teeth.  
  
---  
  
Saturos and Mernardi reached a house that had the words "ALABARON" engraved on the door. When they entered the house, they were surprised to find the chief lying on a bed. The house was extremely small. There was a small stove, and a bookcase, besides the bed the chief was lying on.  
  
"I had a feeling he was lying about how he didn't know anything about alchemy. This place shall be one of the more interesting we've visited," Saturos said. He got a leather-bound book out of the bookcase. The book was labeled "Unknown Legends." Saturos flipped to the first page, and read aloud:  
  
"Long ago, a curious, yet greedy young man found a magical stone on the ground, and rubbed it for no apparent reason. His curiosity award him, for a mercury djinni popped out, and told the man that it can grant one wish for the man before it would be free. Because the young man was extremely greedy, so he asked for a stone that can turn common base metals into pure gold. The djinni granted him his wish, leaving four stones in his possession; the Venus Star, the Mars Star, the Mercury Star, and the Jupiter Star. The djinni told him that the stones not only can make base metals into solid gold, but it can also provide elemental power to summon all sorts of magic. The only problem was that the djinni didn't tell the man how to use the star's powers; thus, his wish was useless. Enraged and blinded by his greed, he threw the stones out in the mountains where he found the magical stone, causing the mountain to form a secret tunnel. That was hundreds of years ago. After a long period of time, a poor traveler found the secret passage in the mountains, to find the legendary sanctum built in the honor of the sun – Sol Sanctum. Obstacles and puzzles blocked the traveler's way, but he managed to get into the heart of Sol Sanctum, where the elemental djinn, including the same djinni that created the Elemental Stars, were guarding the Stars. When the man tried to get the Jupiter Star, bolts of lightning came from the statue wielding the Wind powers, for the man didn't have the Mytril bags in his possession. The guardian of the chamber made the man teleport back to his village, and the whole study of alchemy started when the man gave the information out. Though he had no proof that this really happened, many sages believed him and started devoting their lives into finding the Elemental Stars, or cracking the core of alchemy." Saturos turned the page, but there was only a story about "Secrets of the Lighthouses." Saturos scowled.  
  
"Wow, is that really how alchemy started?" Mernardi said who was sitting on the chief's bed.  
  
"Most likely," Saturos shrugged. "I have a funny feeling we'll need this book for future uses. C'mon, it's almost sunrise, we better go…"  
  
---  
  
Here might be a tidbit of info you'll need if you want to understand this story a little bit more. The Chinese invented the compass, yes. I'm assuming the Golden Sun world is really earth in the Middle Ages, if you look at the full map of where you visit in Golden Sun, it looks suspiciously a lot like Europe, Asia, and Africa. I'm also guessing since Saturos and Mernardi are part of the fire clan of the north, they must live in North America. Yes, they will be riding toward Europe soon, but I'm not going to write a Saturos and Mernardi chapter anytime soon. I'm currently working on a chapter on Luke's clan, and after that, a chapter on Vale. I'm getting other ideas on adding not adding Ivan to this story, because after talking with someone, I have some theories on Ivan's past… his family. Well, anyway, I hope I didn't rush through tis chapter, hehe, taking an advantage over Spring Break ^_^ 


	4. Wish Well...

Alchemy Destinies  
  
By: The Digital One  
  
.; I just noticed that I spelt "Menardi" wrong from the last chapters. I just added an R, so I'm not going to change it from the last chapters; I'll just spell it correctly next time.  
  
I don't own Golden Sun. So? It's not like any Golden Sun fic writer owns Golden Sun, anyway. If I were to own Golden Sun, I'd make a prequel… like this story, ah, well, in this chapter Luke commands his new group… kind of. Well, I hope you enjoy this story. (And thanks for the positive reviews!) The next story will be about Jenna, Isaac, and Garet. Two boys fighting for a girl… well, not really… just plain life in Vale.  
  
---  
  
Chapter Four: Wish Well…  
  
For the whole day, the clan stayed on the same area, playing games or just relaxing. Mia kept on admiring Alex's present. The creature stopped glowing. It has light blue skin, like Alex's eyes, yellow eyes, like jewels, and a pink tail with a pincer on the end, which made Mia suspected it was a mutated crab. Though Alex said Fizz was a mercury djinni, she didn't have the slightest clue what a mercury djinni was. A healing crab? Mia didn't know, nor cared. Alex commented loudly on how Luke was worried about how he'll accept so much responsibility. Of course, Luke was acting differently. He wasn't talking to Alex; he just sat on the huge boulder, and looked at the cloud formations. This got Alex curious, because like him, everyone knew him to be an annoying loudmouth. Mia thought Alex was jealous of Luke's promotion, though Mia couldn't see why the remaining clan members chose Luke as a leader.  
  
"So, Luke, what are you doing?" Alex crawled onto the boulder, and sat next to Luke. "Staring into space?"  
  
"Mmm," Luke said, barely paying attention to Alex.  
  
"Yea, I do that when I'm worried," Alex joked. "Say, doesn't that cloud look like a hand?"  
  
"Mmm."  
  
"… Luke, are you listening to me?" Alex waved his hand in front of Luke's face.  
  
"Oh, Alex, what do you want?" Luke looked toward Alex.  
  
"It's about time you start paying attention to me!" Alex scowled.  
  
"Sorry, geez, can't I have time alone?" Luke seemed annoyed. Alex frowned, and got off the rock.  
  
"Well, Mia, how are you today?" Alex smiled broadly at Mia, which warmed her insides. She beamed back, and moved her bangs away from her eyes.  
  
"I'm fine," Mia said. Since the conversation was getting no where, she asked about Fizz. "What is Fizz, Alex? I mean, what is a mercury djinni?"  
  
Alex hopped on the boulder, next to Mia. "I honestly don't know. Fizz, what are you?"  
  
Fizz looked at Alex, and tilted his head. "That was a horribly rude question, Alex…" Mia forced a laugh.  
  
"Umm, sorry, Fizz… would you be so kind to tell us what your … purpose on earth is?" Alex asked. Though Fizz had no visible mouth, his face fell.  
  
"I am a mercury djinni. I guard the Mercury Star, but I've been released by thieves!" Fizz began jumping on Mia's lap. Alex and Mia both caught each other's eyes, and tried not to laugh. They decided not to question Fizz anymore.  
  
---  
  
Night fell, and the clan had the most fun in a long time. Luke was still watching the sky, and finally stopped staring into space to eat more apples. Mia sat next to Luke, and handed him another apple.  
  
"Thanks Mia," Luke sighed. He slowly bit into his apple.  
  
"So, what are your plans for our clan?" Mia said.  
  
"Hmm, I dunno. I'm thinking about settling down in a town that would accept seven nomads," Luke chuckled dryly.  
  
"We aren't nomads! We have a home…" Mia said.  
  
"Yea, Crib was awesome, I would have gone back if that damned forest wasn't there. Besides, I don't know where Crib is," Luke remarked. "We'll find a new 'crib,' 'kay, Mia?"  
  
"Sure," Mia stared at the plain landscape sadly. She could visualize 'crib' perfectly; it was a small village with snow covered rooftops, and nothing but snow and bare branched trees out in the landscape. Mia never imagined leaving her home, until Erik dragged her out of 'crib' to go somewhere else. Now, that Erik is dead, where will they go?  
  
"Well, we're heading north tomorrow. Hopefully we can find an abandoned village, or some place to rest," Luke finally said. He laid down on the rock. "Have a nice day, Mia… relax…"  
  
Mia looked sadly at her brother. Respect from her grew for him, now that he wasn't picking on younger children. Was it because of everyone that died? Probably. Mia sighed, and rested her head on the hard boulder. She unlatched her cloak, and used it as a pillow.  
  
"Mmpphh… Mia! You're squishing me!" A muffled cry came from Mia's cloak. Mia immediately got up, and sleepily got Fizz out of her inside cloak pockets. Fizz jumped around Mia's cloak, trying to find the softest place.  
  
---  
  
"Wake up, Mia." Someone was shaking Mia. Her bones were aching, and she remained lying down.  
  
"Mmm, goway," Mia said in her cloak.  
  
"Mia!" it voice grew clearer. It was Lars.  
  
Mia opened her eyes, and turned around. "Can't a girl get some sleep after a tiring day?"  
  
"Yesterday wasn't tiring at all! In fact, you barely walked; you just stayed on that boulder and didn't budge. We're going north today!" Lars put his hands on his hips.  
  
"Here, let me handle this," Fizz jumped onto Mia's body. "DOUSE!" water poured onto Mia's body.  
  
"Fizz, damn it!" Mia yelled. She got up and put her wet cloak on. "Okay, let's go then!"  
  
"About time, Mia," Bill said.  
  
Luke gave a pained looked to Mia. "Well, then, let's head north of this open area. We'll be sure to find some interesting things."  
  
Mia followed Luke. The trek was uneventful, except for several kids complaining. Mia couldn't help complaining either, so she stood as far away from Luke as possible. Fizz suddenly yelled and attacked Mia with a douse attack.  
  
"Fizz, god damn it, what the hell is your problem?" Mia yelled in rage. She attempted to kick the djinni, but failed; Fizz had more agility. The children immediately stopped complaining laughed at Mia chasing the djinni.  
  
"Mia, stop loafing around and catch up with us! I ordered Fizz to douse you," Luke called out to Mia. Mia's face was totally an opposite color of her eyes and hair. Mia slowly walked toward the clan, clutching Fizz by its tail.  
  
"Mia, let go of me! Mia!" Fizz whined. Mia gritted her teeth, and gripped his tail harder.  
  
"Hey! Mia, that didn't tickle!" Fizz was struggling to get out of her hand.  
  
---  
  
After a long trek, they finally reached a city. Bill ran in front of Luke and read the sign slowly.  
  
"Kolima... so, this place is Kolima!" Bill said brightly.  
  
"You're right, sport. I hope they have a big inn," Luke walked in the town, looking around. The houses were trees, and several people outside who were making things out of wood stared strangely at the clan.  
  
Luke beamed at everyone. "Umm, excuse me, this is Kolima, right?"  
  
Several people nodded slowly, eyeing all the clan members.  
  
"Do you guys have an inn?"  
  
A man with padded gloves on pointed at a large tree with the words "inn" embossed above the door. Luke nodded.  
  
"Heh, silly me, I should have seen that…" Luke waved merrily at the workers, and signaled the clan members to follow him.  
  
"So, how much would seven people cost?" Luke asked the manager at the counter. He eyed the clan members weirdly.  
  
"We don't pay by the people. We pay by the rooms," The manager said. "I'm guessing you are all family, so…" he chuckled. "You all can share one room, mm?"  
  
Luke looked at everyone. "Not exactly… well, any of you guys willing to share rooms with someone?"  
  
"I can share a room with Bill. I mean, Bill can't sleep in a room by himself," Bill's mom remarked. Bill made a funny face.  
  
"What do you mean, mom? I'm a big kid now!" Bill puffed out his chest.  
  
"We need to spare as much money as we can. About three people to a room will do. Can you guys please volunteer?" Luke took out a small bag, and counted the coins in them. "I'd appreciate it."  
  
"… I guess I'll share a room with you, Luke," Mia finally said.  
  
"Thank you Mia. The rest of you can share a room!" Luke withdrew the correct amount of money from his bag, and placed it on the counter. Luke walked upstairs, reading the key the manager gave him.  
  
"5A…" Luke said. "Mia, help me find a 5A… ah, never mind, here it is!" Luke stood in front of a wooden door, beaming. Alex's room the across from theirs, and Mia could hear muffled yelling between Alex and Megan.  
  
"Well, here it is!" Luke opened the door, and Mia stepped in. The room was dark. It had two small cots, one in the corner of where the only window was, and one almost directly in front of them. Besides the beds, there was a dirty carpet on the ground, a fire place near the bed in front of them, and a small table.  
  
"Pfeh, what a waste of money," Mia scoffed. Luke smiled weakly.  
  
"Well, it's better than camping outside, right?"  
  
"No."  
  
Luke smiled. "Well, I guess it's better than nothing…"  
  
"Nothing is sleeping outside, Luke…"  
  
"Ah, well, since there aren't refunds, we'll live with it."  
  
"Mmm… do they serve us food?"  
  
"They do have a restaurant free of charge for customers. Want to check it out?"  
  
"I hope the food will cover how cheap our room is," Mia rolled her eyes.  
  
Luke ignored Mia's comment, and went up the stairs, which got hot as they went higher. There, they met a young man, with a miserable frown on his face. The man had dirty blonde hair and brilliant green eyes. He was roasting meat on a stove. Luke helped himself to one of the few chairs, and waited patiently.  
  
"What do you want?" The man said, without looking at Luke or Mia.  
  
"Umm, what do you serve?" Luke asked.  
  
The man chuckled dryly. "Haha, meat, meat, and more meat. We also have raw vegetables, if you want," The man used his hand to fan his face.  
  
"… Why don't you cook the vegetables?" Mia asked. Her stomach was getting a little queasy. How can she trust the man with his 'meat,' and raw vegetables?  
  
"Ha, dunno how to prepare 'em. Once I tried preparin' some eggplant, and it poisoned a customer," he chuckled again. "That's why I'm willin' to keep up with a job like this,"  
  
Luke and Mia exchanged dark looks.  
  
"You know, Mia, why don't we look around Kolima? I'm not that hungry, anyway… so, maybe we can eat later!" Luke suddenly got off his chair, and went quickly down the stairs. Mia quickly followed Luke.  
  
---  
  
"Ugh, what a horrible place!" Alex complained. He was walking around the Kolima woods with Megan and Lars. "They too went to the restaurant intending to eat, and left with empty stomachs.  
  
"Indeed, maybe we can find some nuts in their forest?" Lars suggested. Alex nodded.  
  
"Well, it's better than eating raw vegetables…"  
  
"Yep, and I'm hungry!" Megan complained. When they advanced toward the woods, they heard hacking noises.  
  
"What's that?" Megan whimpered.  
  
"Dunno… maybe they're cutting down trees to make their statues. Maybe…" Alex shrugged.  
  
"I hope their artwork is better than their cheap services," Lars remarked.  
  
Apparently, Alex was right. Several men were cutting down huge trees, and stacking them near a small river.  
  
"They don't appreciate life, do they? Being even a tree is blessed, you are presented with the gift of life, and they neglect that…" Lars grumbled.  
  
"Many people neglect that, Lars. They do this to earn a living. Besides, even if we wanted to stop them, how will we?" Alex said.  
  
"Lars, stop acting so grumpy," Megan scolded.  
  
"Yea, Lars."  
  
"Hey, what the hell are you guys doin' here?" a man noticed them discussing.  
  
"We came here…" Lars nudged Alex.  
  
"We came here to… inspect," Alex said quickly. Lars gave him a pained look.  
  
"Yea, we came to see if your… trees were healthy enough to produce fine wood for your craftsmanship," Megan said.  
  
"Go on…" the man suddenly stopped. He rested his arms on his axe's hilt.  
  
"We already inspected these trees earlier today. We're looking at the ones deeper in the forest," Megan said.  
  
The man nodded. "Okay, as long as you don't disturb the holy tree," he said, and went back to work.  
  
Once they went deeper in the forest, Lars burst out laughing.  
  
"Hahahaha, a 'holy' tree? These Kolimians are weird… I mean, a 'holy' tree, when they cut down other trees? Give me a break!" Lars sneered.  
  
"Well, if the holy tree bears nuts, we'll disturb it. Besides, what is the holy tree?" Alex shrugged.  
  
"Hmm, I wonder how the other clan members are doing. Do you think they ate anything from he inn?" Megan suddenly said.  
  
"Meh, I doubt it. Besides, they aren't that dumb… maybe Luke's an exception," Alex replied.  
  
"It seems Alex is a little jealous of Luke…" Lars smiled.  
  
"Jealous? Me? Ha, gimme a break," Alex tried to fake the pitch of his voice.  
  
"Well… oh my god…" Megan was gaping at a tree.  
  
"So? It's a tree? Big whoop—" the tree Megan was gaping at had… a face!  
  
"It's the holy tree, I bet," Lars said. Even he looked surprised.  
  
"Holy tree? No… Tret's the one Kolimians call the 'Holy Tree.' The Kolimians do respect me though…" the tree breathed in.  
  
"I sense great powers in you, young man…" the tree's eyes fixed on Alex's face. "I am Laurel… if you want to see Tret, go ahead… just walk due north a little."  
  
The tree of them walked toward Tret. He looked a lot older that Laurel, and he gazed sadly at Alex.  
  
"You are going to grow up to be a powerful man… yet you'll… abuse your powers…" Tret said as soon as they reached him. Alex gazed at Lars and Megan weirdly.  
  
---  
  
Making Kolima sound bad, huh? Well, sorry this chapter was short… and somewhat odd. I was waiting to write about Isaac and Garet, teehee. ^^ 


	5. Mister Kraden comes

Alchemy Destinies  
  
By: The Digital One  
  
YAY! Isaac and Garet are going to make their debut. I was waiting for this chapter! Well, this will probably be the only Vale chapter in a long time, until Saturos and Menardi "forces" Alex to join them (which will take a long time, since I'm basing the prequel on the actual game), and then them getting past the elders… well, anyway, Kyle was inspired by Calvin's dad (from Calvin and Hobbes), just a side-note, though we won't be seeing him much.  
  
---  
  
Chapter Five: Mister Kraden comes  
  
Garet's wide eyes widened even more; he was paying close attention to his grandpa.  
  
"… and he'll be living here!" Garet's grandpa concluded.  
  
"Whoop-dee-doo," Garet's twin sister yawned. "An old hag raving about alchemy is going to live here! I'm so excited. Now can I go?"  
  
"What are you talking about, Jessie? He's not a hag! He's probably the most successful alchemy sage ever! Go ahead and play with your dumb paper dolls, while I will become an adept!"  
  
"So? Paper dolls are cool!" Garet's little sister, Anna said. She crawled out of Jessie's arms and started hugging her grandpa.  
  
"Whatever! While you girls loaf around, I will build my skills to become an adept! I will be capable of psynergy! And anyone who opposes me will get their ass whoo—"  
  
"Garet, that's enough now," Garet's mom scolded. "We all have differences… and you should respect that."  
  
"They should respect something cooler," Garet said.  
  
"Why don't you play with Isaac, or something? I really get a headache when my angels complain…" Garet's dad said.  
  
"That's a great idea! I'll tell Isaac about it, and we'll become adepts together!" Garet clapped his hands together. "In fact, maybe Jenna is cool enough for a girl to appreciate alchemy!"  
  
"Mmm, I'll call you when dinner's ready," Garet's mom said.  
  
"'Kay, mom, see ya!" Garet got his cloak out of the closet and hastily tied it on.  
  
---  
  
"Well, here goes…" Garet sighed, and walked up to Jenna's door. He knocked lightly on the door. Garet heard footsteps, and he adjusted his cloak. Jenna's brother, Felix answered.  
  
"Oh, hi… Felix…" Garet muttered. He was blushing. "Umm, can—"  
  
"Geez, Garet, look at your face!" Felix stared at Garet. Garet's face immediately faded into a crimson color. "Why are you wearing a cloak in the middle of summer?"  
  
"Well, I—"  
  
"I bet I know who you want, hold on," Felix nodded. "Jenna! Come here!"  
  
"Felix, I'm busy! And if it involves those stupid tricks, I'm not coming!" Garet could hear Jenna yell across the house.  
  
"Wouldn't you like to see Garet instead of… combing you hair?" Felix called.  
  
"Garet? Ha! I'm not falling for your tricks, Felix!" Jenna yelled.  
  
"Have it your way!" Felix said. "Well, Garet, I'm afraid Jenna's busy… come back later."  
  
"Wait! Never mind, I believe you!" Garet heard Jenna running toward the door. She opened it, and gazed into Garet's face.  
  
"Umm, hi, sorry about that…" Jenna put on her boots, and got her staff. Garet stared at her.  
  
"What was that about, anyway?" Garet asked.  
  
"Felix just found out that he was an earth adept… and he…" Jenna sighed.  
  
"Really? Don't worry, Jenna, vengeance will be yours once I become an adept!" Garet said. They were walking side by side.  
  
"….Umm, yea… well, what's up? Why did you call me out?" Jenna asked.  
  
"My grandpa told me the coolest thing!" Garet smiled. "Kraden will be coming?"  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Kraden! The alchemy sage! He'll be living in Vale!" Garet said.  
  
"Oh, great. Now Felix can build his powers so he can play more tricks on me!"  
  
"Why don't you become an adept? You have the potential, heh…"  
  
"Well, I'm sure Isaac's dad will be excited by this news… call Isaac out." They were standing in front of Isaac's house. Garet knocked on the door, much harder than he had earlier at Jenna's. No on responded.  
  
"Hey, Isaac? Are you in there?" Garet laid his head on the door.  
  
"Isaac normally can come outside after training with his father…" Jenna said.  
  
"Maybe Isaac loves you, and… he's afraid that he'll blush in front of you… or…"  
  
"Oh, please, Garet…"  
  
Suddenly the door opened, and Garet tumbled to Isaac's mom's feet.  
  
"Oh, it's you Garet. Heh, not a surprise, either… need help in getting up?"  
  
"No, I'm fine… ma'am…" Garet grunted.  
  
"You two are searching for Isaac, right? He's up in the sanctum, watching the others meditate. Go up there…"  
  
"Thanks, ma'am," Jenna nodded and walked north toward the sanctum.  
  
"Hehe, Isaac's not the type to meditate and become a healer…" Garet said.  
  
"Well, everything's possible," Jenna swatted her staff at a vermin walking towards them. Suddenly, healers came bursting out of the sanctum, and Isaac was clutching his father's hand tightly, his father looking smug.  
  
"Isaac!" Jenna yelled over all the voices. "Over here!"  
  
Isaac looked toward Jenna, and said something to his dad. His dad nodded, and began talking to the great healer. Isaac ran toward the, panting.  
  
"So, did you learn how to meditate, so something?" Garet asked.  
  
Isaac frowned. "Meditate? Err…" Isaac looked away from Garet. "So, Jenna, your brother's a venus adept, huh?"  
  
"Yea and he's abusing his powers…" Jenna said. She put her staff on her shoulders, and held on to it with both hands.  
  
"He's using his powers to…" Isaac began, and looked around. "Hurt you?"  
  
"No, he has plant powers. He grew giant thorns in my garden… do you know how much energy I put into that garden everyday? Now, I'll have to start all over, using my fallow garden…" Jenna's mouth quivered. "A… And he… he said that," Jenna paused, and then sighed. "Ugh…"  
  
Garet laughed. "Haha, Jenna. God, how can that upset you? I thought he made rocks fall over you while you were sketching your landscapes near the waterfall, or something."  
  
"Garet, shut up! What if your sister did something to the one thing you loved?" Garet immediately thought about Jenna when she said that, but he shrugged.  
  
"My sister would never kill someone," Garet said hollowly, kicking a small pebble into the lake. Isaac smiled.  
  
"Ah, let's no delve into this subject anymore," Isaac said, beaming. "Anyway, what's up with you guys?"  
  
"Garet's excited about a sage moving to Vale," Jenna said as if it had no importance. The three of them sat near the lake's edge, and Jenna dipped her staff into the water playfully.  
  
"Wow, an alchemy sage?" Isaac got up, and looked toward Jenna.  
  
"Yea, so? What's so great about that?" Jenna stared up to Isaac's excited face.  
  
"Wow! Then I can become an… adept! Well, of course I'll be an adept; both of my parents are adepts! Hmm, I wonder what kind of adept I'll turn out to be… my mom's a Jupiter adept, my father is a Venus adept…"  
  
"I know I'll be a fire adept, I just know it," Garet smiled. "That would be cool!"  
  
Jenna rolled her eyes. "Wow… very… interesting…"  
  
"Indeed, Jenna!" Isaac said, peering into the sky. "I certainly don't want to be a Mercury adept, I mean, they barely have any powers except to heal… boring…"  
  
"Yea, being a Jupiter adept sure has its advantages!"  
  
"Wow, when is he coming, Jenna?"  
  
"I dunno… ask Garet… besides, why the heck would I care?"  
  
Isaac shrugged, and turned to where Garet was sitting. "When is he coming, Garet?"  
  
"Dunno, grandpa said he is coming from Hesperia. That should take a long time…"  
  
"I hope he comes soon!" Isaac said excitedly.  
  
"Yea, me too," Jenna said dully. She grabbed her staff and walked away from them. "I'll be going," she said without a backward glance at the two boys.  
  
"Sure, go join Jessie and Anna to play your sissy girl games! Go cut out paper dolls and pretend you're princesses!" Garet called to Jenna. Jenna felt a stabbing pain in her chest, and she glowered at Garet. The tramped up the stairway, and marched onto the bridge, looking at Mt. Aleph above. Few villagers ever went up to Mt. Aleph… was Sol Sanctum really there? Jenna smiled, sneaked up into the sanctum's cliff, and turned her head to see if anyone was watching. When a boy playing with a dog ran past the bridge, Jenna raced toward the tree and hid to make sure that no one really was watching her.  
  
"Ha," Jenna whispered to herself. "Garet and Isaac probably don't even know what alchemy is! They probably don't know that Sol Sanctum is inside Mt. Aleph!" She sighed, ran up to the entrance, and hid behind a small boulder. Then Jenna quickly ran toward the entrance, and opened the door.  
  
The room she entered was dark, and she heard a dripping noise. She saw an open doorway in front of her. Jenna forced a laugh, and then headed toward the door. What if this was some kind of trap? She edged near the doorway.  
  
'Why the hell am I doing this?' Jenna thought. 'To impress Isaac and Garet, or something?' Jenna didn't answer the question, but still advanced to the next room, holding her breath. The dripping noises came nearer. In front of her was a small pond, with marble stepping stones, and three tunnels. Jenna sighed, and decided to take the middle route. While stepping on the stones, she heard a shifting noise.  
  
"Yes… the door… the door…" Jenna heard a hoarse whisper. Jenna shuddered, and hopped quickly onto the stones. She ran through the door, and went inside a hallway.  
  
"Honestly, these elders should make Mt. Aleph harder to get through," Jenna ran across the hallway, hearing footsteps behind her. She ran faster, and advanced to the next room. She could hear her heart pounding loudly. Since there's someone following her, she couldn't get out of the mountain.  
  
---  
  
"You need to get through serious training in order to start developing your powers…"  
  
"Yea, whatever Isaac. I'm training to become a Mars Adept soon!"  
  
"Garet, it isn't that easy…"  
  
Say what you will, Isaac."  
  
"… Where did Jenna go?"  
  
"I dunno?"  
  
"We should try finding Jenna instead of arguing…" Isaac got up, and walked up the stairs.  
  
"No! She probably went crying to her mother, come on, please…"  
  
Isaac paused. "You really think she's that immature, Garet?" Isaac said impatiently. He walked up the stairs, and Garet ran up to him.  
  
"What if she… went up to Mt. Aleph, so something?" Garet said. Isaac scoffed.  
  
"Hah! You really think Jenna's that dumb? Come on…"  
  
---  
  
"I am so dumb!" Jenna sighed; wishing that she never left her home, and went to talk to Garet. When the footsteps grew stronger, Jenna hid behind one of the many statues in the room. She peered behind the statue, seeing if the person was there already.  
  
"Hey!" The squeaky voice startled Jenna. She jumped up, and kept herself from yelling. She whipped around in different directions, seeing who said it.  
  
"Up here, girl. Did you see a… brown bug like creature?" A purple creature with a rather large head and glinting blue eyes was on the statue's head, looking down at Jenna.  
  
"N…No…" Jenna stammered. The creature jumped onto Jenna's lap, and looked around.  
  
"What the hell?" Another voice rang. Jenna immediately knew that the man following him said that.  
  
"Who's there?" The purple creature said cautiously. Jenna heard some giggling and grunting.  
  
"Who are you?" The man walked around the room, turning his head in different directions. Jenna finally could see the man. He had bright blue hair tied into a ponytail, he was wearing torn up robes, had a beard, and had bright blue eyes.  
  
"Over here!" someone else said excitedly. Jenna was starting to get crept out.  
  
"Why are you all searching for Bane? Or are we all excited to finally have a visitor?" The purple creature said. A blue creature with spikes on its head looked up from the statue and nodded furiously.  
  
"It's a mercury adept, Kite!" the creature said in a high voice.  
  
Kite looked up. "Yea, but why is he here? Why is she here?" The man suddenly found the ones who were talking. The blue creature jumped onto Jenna's lap, and breathed in her face.  
  
"She's a Mars Adept, yuck…" The blue creature edged away.  
  
"Who are you?" The man said, looking closely at Jenna.  
  
"I am a citizen of Vale, and I have the rights to visit Mt. … Aleph … thief!" Jenna suddenly said, with immense courage.  
  
"Oh ho, who are you to accuse me? I am…" The man suddenly stopped.  
  
"Yer a thief!" A 'brown bug' looking creature popped out, its blue eyes filled with anger. "And she is too!"  
  
"Flint… both of them are adepts…" The blue creature said. Flint tilted his head slightly.  
  
"Then they want to steal the elemental stars!! We gotta fight 'em!" Flint said jumping.  
  
"This girl is a child…" another voice popped out.  
  
"Torch… fancy you meeting here. If anyone else comes, we probably don't have the power to keep the stars safe… especially the Mercury Star," the blue creature said.  
  
"Aye, your brother, Fizz…" Torch began.  
  
"Is a freakin' turncoat!" Flint piped up. "Left for no damned reason! He probably was afraid of the sanctum robbin'!"  
  
"And what about Bane? He always runs off!" the blue creature said angrily.  
  
"Spritz, we always catch that coward that flees from any noise," Torch said dully. Torch was taller than the rest of them, and he had a bright orange coat, and big, green eyes. "…but… your brother went out of the sanctum! If he's dead, I wouldn't give a damn…"  
  
Torch shook his head. "We do have the help of the wise one…" No one said anything.  
  
Jenna looked up at the man. He had no clue what they were talking about, either.  
  
"And we need to stick together, especially when robbers are plenty now-a- days!" Flint said, jumping.  
  
"Now, what do you want, child?" Torch said comfortingly to Jenna.  
  
"Me?" Jenna said.  
  
"… yea, you… why are you here?" Spritz said.  
  
Jenna didn't know the answer, so she answered truthfully. "I dunno…"  
  
"Liar! And what about you?" Flint said, facing the man.  
  
"I… protect the sanctum!" The man said slowly.  
  
"Liar!" Jenna roared. Everyone was looking at her. "You aren't even a villager in Vale!"  
  
"And how you know that?" Another small voice piped up. Another big bug-like creature popped out, much fatter than Flint.  
  
"Bane, you imbecile! Come back here!" Kite yelled. Bane gave a bored expression to Kite.  
  
"Refrain from name calling, friend," Bane said coolly.  
  
"Bane, go back to the sanctum!" Flint ordered. Bane just stood there, staring at Jenna.  
  
"Kite?" Spritz said. Kite nodded, and walked up to the man. Kite closed its eyes, and started using…  
  
"You guys know how to … cast psynergy?" Jenna said. Torch nodded silently, and they all looked at Kite.  
  
"Ahhhh! What the hell are you doing?" the man yelled. Kite stopped, and jumped onto Jenna's lap.  
  
"His name is Mitchell. He comes from northern Hesperia. He abandoned his family in search of… the elemental stars… he is a mercury adept…" Kite said.  
  
"No need to say more," Spritz said. "Well, man, you came to the right place, but you aren't getting anything!"  
  
"So, you came for greed, huh? Never intending to come back to your family?" Flint screwed up his face.  
  
Mitchell showed fear in his face. "No… it's…"  
  
"You're disgusting, even for a water seer!" Spritz said angrily. Spritz glowed into a blue power, and head butted Mitchell. "Teleport!" Mitchell glowed the same color, and disappeared. Spritz suddenly reappeared, a smile on his face.  
  
"So, what about this girl?" Bane said. Kite closed his eyes, and faced Jenna. When he was done, Kite's eyes began to sparkle with tears.  
  
"What?" Flint said.  
  
"… Spritz; get her out of here… (sniff) …" Kite said.  
  
"…why?" Spritz asked.  
  
"We demand to know!" Torch said, kicking up his feet and standing on his tail.  
  
"It involves her future… she better not hear it…"  
  
"Her future? Wow, you can read thoughts from the future?" Spritz asked, interested.  
  
"No, silly, Kite just wants to keep it to himself!" Bane said.  
  
"Something is hidden in her brain!" Kite said. "And I won't tell her about it! Let her go! Flint?"  
  
Flint nodded. He went up to Jenna, and put his head on Jenna's left leg.  
  
"Retreat," Flint said. Jenna glowed into a light gold color, and went back to the start of the sanctum. Flint smiled at her.  
  
"No one's looking, go ahead," and with that, Flint ran off into the mountain. Jenna took her word, and walked out of the sanctum, stunned.  
  
---  
  
"Where could she be?" Isaac said, his head stuck in a bush. "Erghh… pull me out Garet…"  
  
Garet slowly pulled Isaac out of the bush. "Like I said an hour ago, Jenna must be home! God, Isaac, are you that worried about her?"  
  
"I'm here," Jenna said, walking toward the boys. Garet put his hands on his hips.  
  
"See?" Isaac smiled at Garet, and then at Jenna.  
  
"So where were you?" Isaac asked, picking thorns out of his cloak.  
  
"Oh, I went to get a snack," Jenna lied. "Umm, did you see a blue haired man here?"  
  
"No, why?" Garet asked.  
  
"No reason…" Jenna lied again. "Well, I better go home…" Jenna scurried off down to her home.  
  
"Doesn't it seem she's hiding something from us?" Isaac asked Garet. Garet shrugged.  
  
"Well, I guess I have to go now, see ya, Isaac..." Garet ran off to his home. Isaac sighed, and went home himself.  
  
---  
  
"Isaac, where were you? We were worried sick!" his father said, slicing a piece of bread from a loaf. "Mmm, Dora, this bread is fabulous…"  
  
"I was searching for Jenna," Isaac said dully. "Pass the bread." He bit off a chunk, and passed it back to his dad.  
  
"Why didn't you just cut the bread?" He said, looking at the piece of bread as if he found a tooth in it. "That shows poor character…"  
  
"Yea, sorry," Isaac said. He got a piece of cheese, and put it in his wooden bowl.  
  
"Why was Jenna hiding from you?" his mom asked, wiping her mouth with a napkin.  
  
"Oh, I dunno, when we found her, she left…" Isaac shrugged, and grabbed the bread. Isaac's dad got a bowl of stew, dipped his bread in it, chewing on it thoughtfully.  
  
"Maybe she was fixing her garden?" he suggested. Isaac shook his head.  
  
"We checked there…"  
  
"We?"  
  
"Oh, Garet and I…"  
  
"Is that why you were searching for her all that time?" his mom asked.  
  
"…"  
  
"Mmm, I guess so…"  
  
---  
  
The next few days were uneventful. Jenna dared not to go near Mt. Aleph, as if rocks were falling from the mountain. So, they played tag in the plaza. Isaac instantly became bored of the game (because Garet and Jenna were much faster than him), and quit playing.  
  
"You're a sore loser, Isaac!" Jenna said.  
  
"You guys are much faster than me!" Isaac said, resting his head on his shoulders.  
  
"You aren't trying hard enough… I mean, look at Garet, he's fat!" Jenna said. Garet's eyes widened, as he looked at his arms.  
  
"That's muscle, Jenna," Garet said. He took off his cloak, and rolled up his sleeves. "See?"  
  
"Showoff," Isaac said in a dead voice. Garet smiled.  
  
"If Isaac isn't playing, I'm not either! Jenna's probably faster than a death rate of a vermin!" Garet said. He jumped onto the middle of the pond with the large psynergy stone, and touched it.  
  
"I wonder when Kraden's coming," Isaac looked at his reflection in the mulberry colored stone.  
  
"Yea… I bet he knows a lot of things we would never know in a lifetime…" Jenna remembered seeing Spritz, Torch, and the other creatures she saw in the sanctum, that guarded the stones with the help of the Wise One.  
  
"Since when did you get interested in this subject, huh?" Garet leaned on the stone, looking at her.  
  
"Well…" Jenna couldn't find a way to explain it. She looked into the handsome stone, the sunlight glinting off of the rock. The color reminded her of Kite...  
  
"Kids, please don't stay there!" the woman that worked in the herb shop poked her head out of the window. All three of them jumped off the stone at once.  
  
"Thank you…"  
  
"Umm, guys, do you know anything about Sol Sanctum?" Jenna asked after a long moment of silence. She retrieved her silver staff, and stuck it on the ground.  
  
"Only the fact that it was built in the honor of the sun," Garet said. "Hey, Isaac, have any money? We can buy something to eat."  
  
"What about the Wise One?" Jenna asked as Isaac got some coins out of her pocket, counting them, while Garet was watching him count the coins. Jenna realized they weren't listening to her.  
  
"Hold on, Jenna…" Garet grabbed the money from Isaac's hand, and walked up to the bakery.  
  
"Isaac, what has your dad taught you about Sol Sanctum?" Jenna asked Isaac. Garet returned, holding three buns. He handed one to both Isaac and Jenna, saving the biggest one for himself. Jenna noticed she got the littlest piece.  
  
Isaac chewed on the bun before answering. "Well, they house the four elements…"  
  
"Yea… and?"  
  
"Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind…"  
  
"Uh huh…?"  
  
"Then elemental djinn protect them!"  
  
"The djinn?"  
  
"Yea, Muslim legends. They grant wishes, and have elemental powers," Isaac finished his bun quickly. Jenna still didn't try her bun.  
  
"Jenna, do you want your bun?" Garet asked. Jenna handed him her bun.  
  
"Here you go, pig," Jenna said. "So, what do djinn look like?"  
  
Isaac shrugged. "The elemental stars could be a legend,"  
  
"No, it isn't," Jenna suddenly said. Isaac nodded.  
  
"Well, what do guys wanna do?" Isaac said. He tossed his napkin inside the psynergy pond.  
  
"Isaac! You know better than that! No littering!" The woman said. Isaac sighed, and got the wet napkin out of the pond.  
  
"Garet, can you throw this away?" Garet edged away from the napkin.  
  
"I… I'm allergic to water…" Garet said. Jenna chuckled as Isaac threw the napkin at Garet. Garet screamed when the napkin stuck onto him.  
  
"Haha, I bet that's why Garet smells so bad!" Jenna joked.  
  
"Isaac! Do you want me to tell your father?"  
  
"Sorry ma'am…"  
  
---  
  
The next day Jenna suggested playing hide-and-seek. Isaac scoffed at the idea, and sat out. He did, however, had fun watching Garet try to find Jenna, when she was hiding behind logs near the inn. Suddenly, an old man wearing a light cloak walked up to Isaac.  
  
"Where… am… I?" He breathed.  
  
"Welcome to the village of Vale!" Isaac put his arms out. The old man, whom was sweating, smiled.  
  
"Yes! I'm here… finally…" Isaac looked up at the man.  
  
"Kraden!" Isaac yelled, which attracted everyone in the plaza. After people realized why Isaac yelled, they started crowding around him, asking him questions. Isaac backed away from the shoving people, and looked at Jenna.  
  
"Want to…" Isaac looked at Kraden. He had a goatee, and glasses that magnified his small beady eyes. Garet went up to him immediately. Jenna smiled, and nodded.  
  
"If it involves training, I'm with you, Isaac!" Jenna said, got up, and reached for her staff. Kraden seemed to like the fame of the villagers crowding around him. Isaac shrugged, and waited for the villagers to go on with their daily routines.  
  
---  
  
I sped up on the ending for this. The only reason I made Jenna meet the djinn is because, yes, I'll be following Saturos and Menardi's quest while Isaac and the others go around their journey, and the djinn play an important role. Well, I didn't like this chapter that much… but it was pretty long, heh ^^ 


	6. Sailing...

Alchemy Destinies  
  
By: The Digital One  
  
Saturos and Menardi (Hehe, not Mernardi) reach the border of Hesperia! Yes, the time between those two chapters was long. :P  
  
---  
  
Chapter Six: Bargains  
  
"My legs feel like lead," Menardi clutched Saturos' chest, and tried to stop the stampeding man. Saturos was enraged by all the detours they've faced; first the Bravado tribe, and now several other "brother" tribes tried fighting off Saturos and Menardi, but none laid a scratch on any of them. For three days and two nights, Saturos walked non-stop. Menardi slowly followed.  
  
Saturos halted and kicked Menardi. "Get off of me, freak," Saturos spat. Menardi got off of him from both the impact of the kick and the impact of the words. Menardi had a special feeling for Saturos she couldn't explain, and she stood there, her scythe supporting her body. Saturos looked back.  
  
"Well? Come on! Angara or bust!" Saturos yelled.  
  
"Saturos, can't we rest?" Menardi got out the book they inherited. "I'll read you a story. You have to be the least bit tired…"  
  
"Silly fool, we are here to find the source of alchemy! The Quill will want it, and I'll get a good promotion indeed!" Saturos said. He walked over Menardi, and stared into her icy eyes.  
  
"You're still loyal to him?" Menardi said sadly. Saturos scowled at her, and slapped her delicate face.  
  
"You are sadly mistaken! I am still loyal to the one being that stands in my way, and when I get close enough, anarchy will strike," Saturos said. Menardi rubbed her face, and followed Saturos.  
  
"Saturos…" Menardi's eyes swelled with tears. "You… you've changed."  
  
Saturos gaze loosened, and then he scowled again. "Whatever. I hope I'll get assigned a new partner after this mission."  
  
Mernardi sighed, and followed the enraged Mars Adept. He suddenly stopped, and sat down on the dirt path. Menardi ran up to him.  
  
"Hey…" Menardi began.  
  
"I'm resting. If you have a problem, then head north and when you reach the coast, wait for me," Saturos' brilliant eyes glinted. Menardi sighed, and sat down relatively close to Saturos.  
  
"If you want to speed things up…" Saturos said suddenly. "Cast wish."  
  
Menardi nodded, and mustered her energy to restore both of their energy. Saturos immediately got up, and walked animatedly to the visible coast. Menardi could see a few small dots in the distance.  
  
---  
  
They could see the beautiful ocean clearly. Apparently, the 'dots' were several men loading things on their ship. Saturos' heart skipped a leap. This was the luckiest day of his whole journey! Saturos smiled, and walked up to a man loading dried meat into a box. Saturos tapped him on the shoulder, and beamed. The man nearly dropped the box; startled by Saturos appearance.  
  
"Never met a more handsome human being, huh?" Saturos chuckled. "Well, I'm wondering where you're going… mind if you tell me?"  
  
"Kalay Docks," the man said.  
  
"Is that in Angara?"  
  
"Y-yes, why?"  
  
"Great; make sure your ship has enough room for two more humans," Saturos stared into the man's eyes. He nodded curtly, and pointed at the ship.  
  
"…Go…"  
  
Saturos clapped his hands together. "Perfect! Then let's go, Menardi!"  
  
Menardi groaned, and stomped toward the ship Saturos was eagerly running toward.  
  
---  
  
"Damn it, we've been sailing in this hellhole for… like thirteen days!" Mernardi complained. Both of them were forced inside a small cabin, with rock hard scones and grimy water to live on.  
  
"Correction; ten days," Saturos said, attempting to bite into a scone.  
  
"I don't give a damn! We've been walking for a long time, right?"  
  
"Yea…"  
  
"… Fool…"  
  
"… Ogre…"  
  
"… Chowder head…"  
  
"Oh, stop acting so immature…" Saturos lazily got the large book, and looked in it. Mernardi curiously peeked over his shoulder.  
  
"Whactha doin'?"  
  
"I'm looking up the scientist that started all of this alchemy," Saturos said dully.  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Aristotle."  
  
"…Oh?"  
  
"Yea…"  
  
"…"  
  
"…"  
  
Saturos cleared his throat.  
  
"Alchemy began in ancient China and Egypt and grew into a common belief which was surrounded by all types of superstitions. Aristotle taught that everything was composed of four elements – earth, air, fire, and water. If one could find the secret key to their composition, it would be possible to change a common metal… like copper into pure gold. Alchemists spent sometimes their whole life trying to find this key," Saturos sighed, and then looked up to Menardi, smiling.  
  
"Heh… it looks like our powers have something to do with this…" Saturos smiled. "I can't wait to go to Angara…"  
  
---  
  
Yes, I know it was short. Nothing could happen to them except several Krakens attacking the ship, which is so unoriginal. I'm doing a Vale story next. 


	7. The Scapegoat

Alchemy Destinies  
  
By: The Digital One  
  
I knew my last chapter stunk, so I'm making it up by /trying/ to make a better chapter. I can't believe my story was on the second page. Anyway, in this chapter, Jenna begins obtains the power of Mars. Isaac and Garet don't learn it until the sequel of Alchemy Destinies (duh). I'm also adding a little section about Luke's clan (yes, about time.)  
  
---  
  
Chapter Seven: The Scapegoat  
  
"Okay… try to focus your mind and body…" Kraden said silently.  
  
"Mmfmm…" Isaac said in a pained expression.  
  
"Come on… you can do it…"  
  
"Damn it, I've been trying to do this for… a long time! It's easier said than done!" Isaac opened his eyes, which were filled with anger.  
  
"Whoa, calm down, man," Garet said.  
  
"…"  
  
"Haha, you guys think you can learn psynergy at this rate?" Jenna scoffed.  
  
"Of course we can!" Isaac said, walking toward Jenna. Sweat was trickling down his face.  
  
"Yea, calm down, Isaac…" Kraden said. "Jenna is far more advanced in this art…"  
  
Isaac scowled. "So?" He spat. Isaac got a book from Kraden's shelf, and pretended to read it.  
  
"Well… want to watch me study?" Kraden said, trying to change the subject.  
  
"… Umm, no, thank you, though… Jenna and I will go now. Isaac, are you coming?" Garet looked toward Isaac 'reading' his book, which was upside down.  
  
"Sure," he said in a dead voice. Isaac hastily shoved the book back in the shelf, and walked outside the door.  
  
"Why is this so hard?" Isaac scowled. Garet shrugged.  
  
"Do girls learn this faster?" Garet said. Jenna smiled.  
  
"Probably…"  
  
"Well, they might not... take the time to do this! Yea!" Garet said, trying to make up an excuse.  
  
"…"  
  
It has been a month since Kraden came to Vale to teach psynergy to others. Isaac, Garet, and Jenna quickly swiped lessons from Kraden, and succeeded. Of course, learning psynergy was no pushover.  
  
---  
  
"So… what are you guys going to do today?" Isaac asked.  
  
Garet shrugged, and looked up into the sky. "Doesn't that look like a goat?" Garet pointed up at a shapeless cloud. Isaac nodded slowly.  
  
"Uh huh… well, anyway, do you guys want to see how Gary's doing? I heard he knows psynergy…" Jenna said softly.  
  
"Big whoop, your brother knows psynergy, we can see him," Garet remarked.  
  
"Aww, but Jenna wants to see him!" Isaac said playfully. Jenna's face turned into a crimson color, and looked away.  
  
"Isaac…" Jenna replied in a sheepish way. Isaac forced a smile, and winked at Garet.  
  
"Okay, we'll see him, Garet, wanna come?"  
  
"Sure," Garet said hollowly, with a tone of envy in his voice.  
  
---  
  
After a short distance of walking, they arrived at Gary's house. They could hear soft talking.  
  
"Aww… aren't you the cutest boy?" A voice cooed. Another voice giggled. Isaac caught Garet's eye, and they tried to remain silent. Jenna rolled her eyes, and knocked on the door. They immediately heard the same voice whining.  
  
"Aww, don't cry, dumpling! It's just someone at the door…" A young man with blonde hair smoothed out on his head answered the door.  
  
"Hey, Gary…" Isaac said. He tried looking in the house to see what was crying.  
  
"You have a baby?" Garet asked.  
  
"Yes, I just got married after the baby was born," Gary said bitterly. Garet smiled, and looked at Jenna. Jenna's expression didn't change.  
  
"… In fact, would you like to baby sit him until nighttime? I need to go out of town…"  
  
"Where's your wife?" Jenna asked. Jenna was taken aback by the sudden plea of babysitting his baby. Did he… predict that they were coming?  
  
"We're going somewhere together. Please? Please?"  
  
"Of course we can!" Jenna instantly said. "Right, Garet?"  
  
Garet smiled. "Umm, sorry, I need to… help my sister with her …garden today! Yea... that's it…"  
  
"Your sister has a garden?" Isaac said, smiling.  
  
Garet gave Isaac a look that could have pierced a diamond. "Yea… remember, the winner of … that gardening… contest?" Garet said in a low voice.  
  
"Uh… yea? Is your sister even in to--"  
  
"Right… I'm terribly sorry, Jenna…" Garet said. He smiled at Jenna, and ran away.  
  
"Meh, see if I care," Jenna said bitterly. "Isaac, please?" Jenna's purple eyes bored into Isaac's face, wide with plea. That look made Isaac's heart skip a beat.  
  
"Uhh… sure…" Isaac said without thinking.  
  
"THANK YOU ISAAC!" Jenna suddenly said. She picked up the bald baby, and started humming a hymn loudly. Isaac scowled, and sat down on the nearest chair.  
  
"You know, I better go—"  
  
"Why do you need to go?" Jenna said, clutching the giggling baby.  
  
"I… I… umm, need to eat dinner," Isaac said quickly.  
  
"I can cook something!" Jenna said. "Remember how you said you liked my food?"  
  
Isaac remembered the occasion too well. For Garet's birthday, Jenna cooked something "special" for him, meatloaf. Garet always ate anything he could set his eyes on, but he couldn't swallow a spoonful of Jenna's meatloaf. Isaac couldn't bear the taste either, so he held his breath while finishing the meat. Isaac had to drink a lot of water later to wash away the bitter aftertaste.  
  
"Umm… no thank you, Jenna…" Isaac said.  
  
"Oh, come on… I've improved!" Jenna said, giving Isaac the same look. Isaac scowled.  
  
"Okay…" Isaac said slowly. He looked at the baby Jenna was soothing, and forced a smile.  
  
"Koo chee chah!" Isaac said in a high voice. The baby giggled. Isaac could hear some pans rattling in the other room.  
  
"… Curses…" Isaac could hear Jenna exclaim. Isaac chuckled to himself, and started playing with the baby.  
  
---  
  
"Where did he go?" Dora sobbed. Kyle frowned, and shrugged.  
  
"Isaac should be inside the village…" Kyle said.  
  
"But… but what if… what if he isn't?" Dora cried.  
  
Kyle closed his eyes, and sighed. "Isaac isn't that kind of person. I know my son more than anyone would, maybe even you, Dora. He wouldn't wander out of the village… even to elope. Unless…"  
  
"What if… he's dead?" Dora screamed. "Oh no, I better go tell the mayor…"  
  
"Don't worry, Dora. I'll ask Garet."  
  
---  
  
"Umm, I think he's… umm, I dunno…" Garet fumbled over his words, for no particular reason.  
  
Kyle nodded. "Thank you, Garet…" Garet couldn't tell if that was supposed to be sarcastic.  
  
Garet frowned. Where Jenna and Isaac okay? Garet decided to check. Besides, he hoped Isaac wasn't flirting with Jenna all by himself…  
  
---  
  
"Is it any good?" Jenna had a spoonful of green vegetables mashed up into a nice pulp. Isaac smiled weakly, as he tried to force his mouth open for another bite.  
  
"Mmm…" he said dully while he was forcing down his food. Isaac was surprised to see Jenna eat it without flinching.  
  
"Isn't this—"  
  
KNOCK. KNOCK. Isaac sighed with relief. As the baby messily ate his food, Isaac ran up to answer the door. He was hoping it was Gary.  
  
Unfortunately, when Isaac opened the door, Garet's head popped up.  
  
"Isaac? Your parents are searching for you!" Garet hissed loudly.  
  
"…"  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
"Ummm, baby-sitting?"  
  
"Anything else?"  
  
"Eating."  
  
"Eating?"  
  
"Yea."  
  
"… Her food?"  
  
"Yea."  
  
"You've got to be kidding me…"  
  
"Well, do I have any other choice? I'm hungry, anyway."  
  
"I can predict how it tastes like by your breath. It isn't pleasant."  
  
"Garet…"  
  
"Isaac?" Jenna came running up to the door, holding the giggling baby. "Oh, hi…" Jenna said darkly at Garet. It was obvious she was mad at him for not helping her.  
  
"Oh, hi, sweet heart." Garet said in a disarming voice.  
  
"Shut up," Jenna said darkly.  
  
"Look, Isaac, you need to go. Your parents are dead worried about you," Garet said, ignoring Jenna's heavy face. "What about your parents, Jenna?"  
  
"Felix is taking care of the house while my parents are going out to trade with people in Lunpa and Vault. That's probably why Gary is gone."  
  
"Are you sure you can handle the baby all through the night?" Isaac asked.  
  
"Maybe, but can't you guys keep me company?" Jenna asked, with the same look on her face. Isaac quickly looked away.  
  
"I'd love to, Jenna… but… I need to go home. It's probably really late," Isaac quickly ran out of Gary's house, into the fresh air.  
  
"… Okay, Jenna…" Garet said. "My family is out to trade too, and Anna's sleeping. So, why not?"  
  
---  
  
"What was that about, Alex?" Megan asked curiously.  
  
"That was a load of… pardon my French… bullshit. Pfeh, wise tree. Give me a break, just 'cause we're strange doesn't mean we're gullible," Lars growled.  
  
"Why were we in that forest, anyway?" Alex asked.  
  
"We wanted to find food," Megan said.  
  
"I did smell something coming from upstairs…" Lars said.  
  
"Huh?" Alex and Megan said simultaneously.  
  
"I mean food."  
  
"Why don't we check it out, mm?"  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"…"  
  
"… So…"  
  
"Where are we?" Alex finally piped up and asked.  
  
"You know… Alex… I really don't know," Megan faced Lars, who tried not to look at them.  
  
"Now what do we do? Roast vermin and bats to eat?" Alex sneered.  
  
"I'm not hungry anymore, but I'm tired…" Lars finally commented.  
  
"Do you want to sleep in a forest with mad trees telling people they're evil?" Megan asked.  
  
"Okay, let's find our way then!" Lars said annoyingly. "Alex, you lead…"  
  
"Why me?" Alex moaned.  
  
"Because… because you'll make the best leader," Megan made up.  
  
"Oh, is that why you chose Luke over me?"  
  
"… C'mon, let's go… we don' need your help anyway."  
  
"Okay, I'm coming!"  
  
---  
  
Mia was sitting in the dark hotel room, huddled on one of the hard cots, watching her brother, Luke, lighting up the fire place. She could hear noises from outside, and she scented a strange odor.  
  
"I hate this place," Mia said to break the silence.  
  
"Live life to the fullest extent," Luke said, panting.  
  
"… Where's Alex?"  
  
"Alex? Dunno, probably in his room with Lars and Megan. Damn it…"  
  
"'S wrong?" Fizz popped out of Mia's cloak, which was on the floor.  
  
"Go away," Luke said. Suddenly, something was rumbling.  
  
"W-what was… what was that?" Mia asked after the rumbling subsided.  
  
"Dunno… let's see if we're all safe!" Luke abandoned the fireplace, and went across the hallway to Alex's room.  
  
"Shit…"  
  
"What?" Mia asked. She hoped Alex was okay…  
  
"Mia, stay here, no matter what! I need to find them!"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Alex and his friends aren't in their room. I need to find them!" Luke put on his cloak, and ran out the door.  
  
"Don't get yourself in trouble, Luke…" Mia said, sitting on the bed, as the rumbling began again.  
  
That was the last time Mia ever saw her brother.  
  
---  
  
Garet was lying on the couch, snoring loudly. Gary's child was sleeping in Jenna's lap, while Jenna looked miserably out the window. She could sense something bad happening. Of course, she highly doubted her own thought, but she still couldn't sleep.  
  
"Ah!" Garet suddenly bolted up, yelling. This frightened Jenna and also made the baby awake.  
  
"Garet! What the hell is your problem?" Jenna exclaimed.  
  
"I dunno…"  
  
"Bad dream?" Jenna yelled over the crying child.  
  
"No, I don't remember having a bad dream… huh? Why is it all of a sudden so cold?" Garet took a blanket, and wrapped himself around it.  
  
"I do feel a little cold. Let me check it out…" Jenna opened the door, and saw something she ever seen before; cold, white sludge covered the ground. Jenna touched the substance and it melted in her hand.  
  
"Frosted water?"  
  
"Close the door, Jenna! I'm freezing!" Garet exclaimed.  
  
Jenna slammed the door, and went deeper outside. Though she knew it was cold, it felt warm.  
  
"Jenna…" Isaac, with a bright yellow scarf, came running toward her.  
  
"Do you know what's happening?" Jenna asked. Isaac's eyes were barely open, but he looked alert.  
  
"I don't know what this … stuff is. But I think it's a warning of something."  
  
"Cold weather?"  
  
"Perhaps."  
  
"Why are you outside?" Jenna asked Isaac.  
  
"My parents were afraid, and I thought I could check out what's happening, Jenna, what about you?"  
  
But Jenna didn't pay any attention. She saw something glowing zoom around the sky.  
  
"Jenna?"  
  
"Huh, oh, yea, what is it?"  
  
Isaac's eyes were a little bit wider. "Nothing, forget it… … Do you… feel that?"  
  
"Feel what?" Jenna looked around, and stared back into Isaac's face.  
  
"Something rumbling," Isaac looked around the ground as if there was a huge poisonous snake about to bite him.  
  
"No…"  
  
Suddenly, the orange glow halted, and faded into a figure of a small, swift character.  
  
Torch was floating in the air, in back of Isaac.  
  
---  
  
I hope this leaves a cliffhanger for you guys. Anyway, stay tuned for more chapters. 


	8. Chaos is NOW

Alchemy Destinies  
  
By: The Digital One  
  
10 reviews, 7 chapters. Pretty good for one that sucks at writing. Anyway, in this chapter, Krakens attack Saturos' future ship, and Saturos takes advantage of this.  
  
---  
  
Chapter 8: Chaos is NOW  
  
Saturos was half-asleep when he heard Menardi hiss in his ear. He didn't know what she was saying until she started yelling.  
  
"SATUROS!" Menardi yelled.  
  
"Ugh, what do you want Menardi?" Saturos said.  
  
Menardi was holding the book from the Bravado tribe, and waving it. "Another clue!" she said brightly.  
  
"Is that why you woke me up?" Saturos spat. Menardi kicked his leg.  
  
"Quiet, here… 'Legend says that the djinn guarded Sol Sanctum hones---'"  
  
"SATUROS! SATUROS?" a frantic yell came from outside the cabin. Menardi scowled.  
  
"Stupid interrupters," she muttered. A man with a red bandanna opened the cupboard door, with a panic-stricken face.  
  
"Saturos… you got to help us, there's a… the legendary… Evil… Blessings, Ply or whatever…" the man was muttering without blinking. Saturos punched the man.  
  
"Speak clearly, moron."  
  
"Saturos… Saturos… a …a big… a big, a big giant squid rumored to be… to… to be the legendary suh—sea monster, Kraken… is outside, wreaking chaos!" the man stammered. A loud boom came from the outside of the ship. "Please, I beg you, please help us, Saturos… and the … err… ever … ever beautiful Menardi!"  
  
"Heh, if Menardi is… umm… ever beautiful, what does that make me?"  
  
"The elegant, the swift… the king… help us!" the man said without thinking.  
  
"Show more expression." Saturos ordered. A plan began to automatically plot in his head.  
  
"Please help us!"  
  
"Not until you make Saturos shut up," Menardi groaned. She got up from the cupboard, and ran toward the noise.  
  
"Well?" Saturos said, breaking the silence between them. The man looked back at Saturos, and started tripping over his words.  
  
"My king, my lord, my majesty!"  
  
"… Am I a good king? A good Lord? A good majesty?"  
  
"… Y-yes, yes indeed… now heavens, please help us!"  
  
"… Explain how good of a king I am…" Saturos said. He was toying with the perturbed looking man.  
  
"Look, we are desperate for any help. I think I made my point clear that you're… a … err, good ruler. Need I say more, or will I need to rely on Menardi for help?"  
  
"Menardi? Bah, really, can you trust her?" Saturos said. A sickening crack came from the outside of the cabin. Sweat was trickling off the man's face, as his eyes darted around.  
  
"No… please help us sir…" the man pleaded. An evil laugh that unmistakably belonged to Menardi rang in the cold air. Saturos grinned evilly.  
  
"Okay, I'll… err, help you," Saturos finally said, chuckling dryly to himself.  
  
---  
  
Saturos never expected Kraken to be that big. It was a gigantic squid, lying on the ship's deck, flailing its long and powerful tentacles. The man in the red bandanna gulped.  
  
"Sir, please?"  
  
"I wonder where Menardi is?" Saturos looked around. Of all of the several prone bodies, Menardi wasn't among them.  
  
Kraken still didn't spot the two men. He unleashed a liquid with a murky gray hue. A man screamed as the caustic ink quickly ate up his skin.  
  
"Oh my god, god save me, god saaave me!" the man was yelling, running around in circles. Saturos put his leg in front of the nervous man, and tripped him.  
  
"Oww…" the man looked up to Saturos. "You know how many brain cells I could have lost?"  
  
"Brain cells? You're probably sweating out all your brain spells now, acting like a total nimrod. Menardi, show yourself!" Kraken was repeatedly beating at a body of a sailor.  
  
"Slay that disgusting thing!" the man shrieked. Kraken suddenly noticed the two, and abandoned the body, slithering toward them.  
  
"SATUROS, DON'T LOAF AROUND NOOOW! WE COULD DIE!" the man squealed.  
  
"Ha? Me, die? I am the immortal Saturos; no living thing can stand up to me! I will slay this beast, and I definitely won't die… but I know you will…"  
  
"Huh? What do y—" The man never finished his sentence. With a swift blow, Saturos' fist crashed into the jaw of the man. The man choked, and spat out teeth reduced to the size of small pebbles. Saturos then stabbed his stomach, and kicked him. The man tried to talk, his eyes on Saturos, but, choking on his teeth, he stopped breathing and collapsed.  
  
Saturos smiled. Then, a big tentacle came whipping up from the air down to Saturos' neck.  
  
"ARGH!" Saturos screamed, his neck a mulberry color. A high-pitched laugh came from above. Saturos looked up, to see Menardi sitting there, a smile on her lips.  
  
"How very odd, the… immortal Saturos can feel pain!" Kraken repeatedly whipped Saturos, causing him to spit out blood.  
  
"Since you are my partner, I could help you… if you make the leader…" Menardi said, her finger on her chin. Saturos spat out some more blood, and crew his sword, slashing at the beast.  
  
"I don't need ANYONE'S help, Menardi! I'd rather eat shit, for all it's worth," within a few more cuts, Kraken suffered from blood loss, and was killed.  
  
Saturos forced a painful smile when he saw Menardi's scowl. "I am immortal for all it's worth, and I shall prove it by conquering the world with the power of alchemy, and I will, not you, Menardi, I will slay the Quill!"  
  
---  
  
Very short, but I'm not that good with graphic novels. I shall not threaten anyone, and you are free to review my story. 


	9. The Sunraiser

Alchemy Destinies  
  
By: The Digital One  
  
What is happening in Vale? Andrew (the mysterious character Jenna encounters with the djinn) is attacking it. I'm intending this to be a long chapter, but I really don't know, I usually write while I go with little planning (that must be a horrible method to write in).  
  
---  
  
Chapter 9: The Sunraiser and Moonraiser  
  
Mia looked sadly into the darkness. She was waiting patiently for Luke, but he didn't arrive. What if something bad happened to Luke? Mia's lip trembled at the sickening thought of Luke's prone body, lying on the forest floor like her mother. A small tear suddenly rolled across her cheeks, and she started gasping.  
  
"Mia!" someone shouted. "Are you in there?"  
  
Mia cleared her throat before answering. "… Who is this?"  
  
Someone impatiently banged on the door. "This is no time for silly questions! It's me, Lars. We have to get out of here.  
  
Mia grabbed her cloak and opened the locked door. She barely traced out the faces of Megan, Alex and Lars.  
  
"C'mon Mia…" Alex hissed. "We need to get out of here; several members are missing as a result of the earthquake! Let's head north toward the mountains before we get mysteriously killed." Alex tiptoed out of the inn, jumping at slight noises.  
  
Mia clutched Alex's hand, and started running. "How the heck are we supposed to know where we're going?" Mia suddenly asked. "And where's Luke?"  
  
"Luke? Wasn't he with you?" Megan asked.  
  
Mia frowned in the darkness. Her imagination pictured Luke again, flailing his arms in midair as an earthquake makes him fall off a steep cliff. The thought nauseated her.  
  
---  
  
Jenna gazed at Torch.  
  
"What are YOU doing here?" Jenna said. Isaac turned around, and spotted Torch.  
  
"Err…"  
  
"I'm here to… protect you," Torch said, turning around, looking around the village – and his eyes focused on Mt. Aleph.  
  
"They're coming."  
  
"Jenna, what is that?" Isaac asked quizzically.  
  
"Forget it, Isaac. He's just here to… I guess they're here to help us."  
  
"'They'? Who are they?" Isaac asked.  
  
"The sanctum is being robbed." Torch said. "Jenna…" Torch suddenly glowed an orange color, and Jenna did the same. Isaac watched in awe, not knowing what was happening.  
  
"Look at this village! It normally doesn't snow here, probably in cooler places like Imil, but not here. I'm guessing a Mercury Adept is robbing the sanctum."  
  
"What do we do? Go in the…"  
  
"No, it's forbidden. I cannot let you guys go in the sanctum. But… be ready. Tuck in."  
  
"Tuck in? What's going to happen?" Isaac asked.  
  
"I'm really not sure. But I can tell you it isn't anything good. Bane, lug yer ass o'er here!" Torch suddenly said. Bane, whimpering, slowly walked toward Torch.  
  
"Get back into the sanctum!" Torch yelled furiously.  
  
"So… Sol Sanctum is… real?" Isaac asked, amazed. Torch eyed Isaac, and started yelling at Bane again.  
  
"Yes, and your friend has been there, boy," an icy voice suddenly rang out. A man with his blue hair covering his face a small beard came limping toward them.  
  
"You!" Jenna gasped. The man smiled.  
  
"Did you… did you put this strange stuff on the ground?" Isaac asked, touching the snow.  
  
"Yes. I came and struck this village with confusion. I came here for a purpose, to achieve the full powers of Alchemy and dominate the world!" a wretched smile formed on his face once he said this.  
  
"Oh, and how will you do that?" Torch sneered.  
  
"By lighting all the elemental lighthouses, one by one, after I get the elemental stars from your precious sanctum! That little discussion between your puny friends and that little girl gave everything away!"  
  
Torch glared at the man. "You have the water powers, but I have the fire powers. So does she." Torch nodded toward Jenna.  
  
"So? I covered the likes of this miserable village with snow, and lots of it, mind you!"  
  
"Jenna, concentrate on the sun…" Torch said.  
  
"The sun? Why would she---"  
  
"Quiet, boy! Let's see what this djinni thing has as a pitiful plan!" the man scoffed.  
  
Jenna tried to visualize the sun, thinking about how rubicund it was… but why?  
  
"C'mon… hurry up…"  
  
The three stared at Jenna anxiously. Jenna stared at them and finally shrugged. The man laughed.  
  
"Ha! Is this the best you can offer me? Well, then, I'm afraid I'll have to begin destroying your village and hacking into Sol Sanctum," he said in a childish voice. Torch suddenly screamed.  
  
"JENNA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Torch yelled in the air. Torch suddenly seemed like he self destructed, and Jenna suddenly looked like as if she was being hit by an invisible man. Isaac watched, fear in his eyes, while Garet ambled toward Isaac.  
  
"What's happening?" Garet said, blinking.  
  
"RETALIATE!" a voice that was unmistakably Torch's rang in the air. Jenna started screaming, burns and bruises appearing on her face. The snow under her seemed to be melting.  
  
"Jenna!" Garet suddenly said, and then tried to get a hold of her. He ended up on the ground, looking helplessly at Jenna, who was now bleeding. Isaac also wished he could do something about this situation. What in blazes was Torch doing?  
  
"RETALIATE, JENNA!" Torch yelled louder. "I SUMMON MARS!" He suddenly said in a tired voice. Torch suddenly became visible as something red lit the sky and pounded onto Jenna's body. Suddenly, she gritted her teeth, and started to somehow manage to glow. (No, I'm not trying to mimic that disgusting show, DBZ. Well, at least I don't continue the same plot for 30 minutes, and I do have a female character doing this, sooo…)  
  
Then, phenomenally, the sun suddenly shone over Vale, the snow being tainted by footsteps from curious villagers.  
  
"Did… did Jenna raise the sun?" Garet said, his mouth slightly opened. Isaac stared at Jenna as she started forcing a smile. Isaac suddenly felt something in his pocket. He reached in, and Torch was there, in a pocket size.  
  
"Did Jenna raise the sun?" Isaac asked. Torch, who looked really exhausted, nodded.  
  
"Yes, she is a Sunraiser, a legendary female figure that creates night and day along with the Moonraiser, who is another female character, only with water capabilities," Torch said.  
  
"Who is the Moonraiser?" Garet asked. Torch suddenly grew slightly larger.  
  
"Even if I did know, I couldn't tell you." Torch said in a very mysterious voice.  
  
---  
  
You probably guessed who the Moonraiser is by now. Anyway, that was the only idea that came to me. I know it sucked, so I'm not expecting any reviews, as usual. ^_^ 


	10. Oblivion Collision

Alchemy Destinies  
  
By: The Digital One  
  
I hope you enjoy this chapter… I'm working on a HTML formatted layout. That means smaller text, etc.  
  
---  
  
Chapter 10: Oblivion Collision  
  
"…"  
  
The snow slowly melted, and rumors were spreading quickly. Jenna was sent to the sanctum to heal, and everyone hustled back to their daily routines with more gossip, but Isaac stood there, his scarf still latched onto his neck. What just happened? He was really confused. He stood there, no one actually noticing him. In sweet oblivion, he stood there, as he heard strange rumors.  
  
"A vermin came and attacked Jenna!"  
  
"Who told you that? Jenna was staying up for daylight savings while Garet snuck up to her and started hitting her!"  
  
"It's not daylight savings, you bastard!"  
  
"Yuh huh!"  
  
"Uh… no."  
  
"What really happened was that Jenna predicted a solar time change."  
  
"…"  
  
"That is a load of hot shit."  
  
"I heard that from the healer."  
  
"What about Isaac? What was he doing?" Isaac turned the other way and blushed a little. His cerulean eyes showed a small highlight from the sun, and he looked up to it. What was Torch talking about? Hell, where is Torch? …Where is Andrew??  
  
"Tuck in." A voice in Isaac's head said soothingly. Isaac looked down in the ground, the translucent slush making his feet go asleep. Isaac slowly trotted toward the edge of the town's gate, where it was forbidden to go without a good reason. Isaac put his foot on a horizontal wooden panel, and tried looking outside. Trees were obscuring Isaac's view, but Isaac could see a clear patch of land, and a large puddle with fiends playing in them. Isaac was slightly engrossed in the fiends' activites, until something knocked him over and made him fall. A man with blue skin was cussing under his breath, and then stared lividly at Isaac. Isaac tried crawling away.  
  
"Hey, boy… does this place have a lighthouse?" he hissed. It was strange how the man could talk in a soft voice yet make it sound like he's yelling.  
  
"Lighthouse?" Isaac stammered. He looked at the man intently. Though Isaac definitely didn't classify him as pretty, he was interesting to look at, from the horns sprouting from his mulberry muscles, to his 2 inch long teeth.  
  
"Yea, a lighthouse!" the man said impatiently. Isaac blinked several times.  
  
"Umm…"  
  
"Saturos, stop loafing around, this place isn't anywhere NEAR a lighthouse!" a young feminine voice called.  
  
"Wait, who are you?" Isaac asked. He clutched the man's shoulders, the horns piercing Isaac's skin.  
  
"I'm… a merchant... I… uh, heard… umm… the lighthouses have plenty of… err… tourists…? Yea…"  
  
Isaac's expression loosened. "Oh…"  
  
---  
  
"You nimrod! You knew perfectly well that there was NO LIGHTHOUSE here!" Menardi exploded once they were a good distance away from Vale. Saturos shot a bitter look toward Menardi and trailed off north. Menardi ran toward Saturos, and blocked his way.  
  
"Okay, I'm sorry, Saturos… I…" Menardi faltered as Saturos brushed his spiky shoulder on Menardi's side, and walked away. Menardi slightly shuddered, and followed Saturos.  
  
"I… love you…" Menardi only made the I audible, and Saturos ignored her. Menardi bit her lip. She decided that love wasn't her feeling toward him, it was friendship. In a wry way. A simpering smile crossed her face as she shook her head. Saturos suddenly turned to Menardi.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I…" Menardi hesitated. "I don't know… umm… where we're headed. Where are we headed?" Menardi said, looking at her pink boots. A frown that strangely looked like disappointment faded into Saturos' face.  
  
"Imil. Home of the Mercury Lighthouse," Saturos said. "But I could've sworn… I… forgot something. I just can't put my finger on it."  
  
"Is that why you absent-mindedly asked that young boy if a lighthouse was there?" Menardi said. Saturos gave a hollow, but forced laugh.  
  
"Heh, I guess so… pretty foolish…"  
  
---  
  
"Where are we headed?" Megan moaned. One side of her was forcing herself to continue walking.  
  
"I really have no clue. Are you sure Luke's…" Mia gave a long sigh and refused to complete her sentence.  
  
"I'm pretty sure. Luke is stupid, yet brave, in a peculiar way…" Alex said.  
  
"We will never forget Luke," Lars groaned. He was also obviously tired from walking. This didn't really help Mia; she burst into tears.  
  
"I-I miss Luke!" Mia started blubbering. Alex stopped, and frowned.  
  
"We better take a break…" Alex said. He kneeled, and took Mia's hand.  
  
"You okay?" Alex said, looking up to her. Mia sniffed, and painfully shook her head.  
  
"Why me? I hate my damned life! First, my father has to disappear, which tears a part of my body asunder, then our dumb and former leader just HAD to drag us out in the middle of nowhere into chaos and misery, where he 'unexpectedly' happens to get himself and most of our clan into their deathbeds! I hate Erik! I hate my family! I hate myself!" Mia complained. Tears flooded down her cheeks as she yelled.  
  
"Life isn't fair. You're pretty lucky to be alive, with friends…"  
  
"Does that fucking matter when you've lost your will to live?" Mia screamed into his face.  
  
"When there's a will, there's a way…" (AN: Yes, I got that quote yesterday from Elma in FFX) Lars said. "I lived this long to suffer probably much more than you have. Fate controls our life. It's called predestination."  
  
"I know what predestination is! And I don't believe in it!"  
  
"Then, it's your fault. Blame yourself for you poor decisions," Alex said calmly. Mia blinked away the remaining tears in her eyes, and thought about what he said.  
  
Alex got up. "Well, we'll be heading due north again. Let's try to get there before nightfall."  
  
Megan and Lars got up with much complaining and ado.  
  
---  
  
Mia was totally OOC; I know. 


	11. The End/Author's Note

Did this annoying fic finally end? In a way, yes.  
  
I came to say this update will be my last for Alchemy Destinies. Or anything related to Golden Sun. I doubt many of you care, but oh well --; I apologize to the few reviewers that were expecting more of this, but I'll try to make it up to you; here's a brief summary.  
  
Saturos and Menardi find Luke, Andrew (who happens to be Luke's father… oh god, I wish I didn't name him Luke now -_-), and the cook in Kolima. They travel up into the Mercury Lighthouse to find that need elemental stars. So… they travel to Vale to attempt to get them, but they fail without the Mythril Bags, and everyone except Saturos and Menardi die. The beginning of Golden Sun ties into the ending.  
  
Sounds confusing, no? If I get bored over the course of summer, I might bend the promise of not writing anymore GS ficcys, and write much more of a description of the paragraph. I might drop by here once in a while, reviewing ficcys, but, being in close proximity with Majority shippers nauseates me ;P Go ahead and flame me; I don't care. I'm terribly sorry I did this … ummm… if you like me that much, go ahead and look in my profile for other stories I've written and my contact info.  
  
~ owari ;_; 


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